


Sparks

by DarlingReigns



Category: American Actor RPF, Chris Evans - Fandom, Chris Evans Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe RPF
Genre: Boston, Break Up, Drama, Drunkenness, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hollywood, Music, Romance, Single Parents, movies - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-07-23 16:35:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7471077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarlingReigns/pseuds/DarlingReigns
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chris Evans and Josie Kern grow close when they both end tumultuous relationships. They quickly become friends and practically inseparable. Everyone around them can see the sparks flying, but they don't. They insist it is nothing more than a deep friendship. But eventually, eyes begin to open. Jealousy and denial begin to tear them apart. Either they fight. Or the sparks fizzle out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One  
"Seriously, Blake, just back the fuck off right now."  
"Babe, just listen to me..."  
The brunette jerked away as the mountain of a man next to her reached for her tattooed arm. Her arm was covered in a sleeve of Disney princess tattoos but at the present moment, she didn't feel very princess like. "There is not a damn thing we need to talk about."  
"Babe..."  
"Stop!" the girl exclaimed. "Stop with the fucking babe shit! I'm not your babe!"  
"You still got the ring on your finger."  
Her jaw clenched as she twisted and turned, yanking the enormous diamond engagement ring off her finger. She held it out in the man's direction. "Here. There ya go. Problem solved."  
Blake shook his head. He was huge, in both height and musculature with jet black hair, a nearly orange tan, and eyes so blue they were almost clear. He had ink on nearly every inch of skin available. Though he was a Los Angeles based personal trainer, with his own gym and celebrity clientele, he looked more like he'd just walked off an episode of The Jersey Shore. "I'm not taking that," he said, arms folded across his inflated chest.  
The girl rolled her hazel eyes. In the light of their upscale apartment, they were glowing an emerald green. Though, with the fire currently burning in her soul, they should've been red. Blood red. "Fine," she sighed. She lifted her bare feet and walked across the wood floor, laying the engagement rock in the dresser. "There. Fine. Done."  
"Babe..."  
"Seriously, one more time and I'm slapping the shit out of you. I have a goddamn name."  
Blake rolled his eyes. "Jo, I know I messed up..."  
Josie Kern burst into laughter, despite the tears welling in her eyes. "You messed up? Messed up? You fucked someone else, Blake. And left the proof on your damn phone."  
"Well, first of all, you shouldn't have been looking at my phone..."  
"Oh that's how you wanna do this? It's my fault?"  
"That's not what I'm saying."  
"That's what it sounds like!"  
"I'm sorry!"  
"I don't care!" Josie exclaimed, the tears finally overflowing into her high cheekbones. "We've been doing this seven years. Seven fucking years, Blake. We have a son. We should be planning a wedding and you're out banging some fucking stripper."  
"She isn't a stripper..."  
"I don't care if she's the goddamn Queen of England, Blake! That's not the fucking point!" Josie stopped and took a deep breath. She was thankful her mother had picked up their four year old a few hours earlier because she was about to lose it for good. "I am not doing this, Blake. I'm not going to be the dumbass girl who lets her man run around and do whatever the fuck he wants and turns a blind eye to it. I am not that girl, I will never be that fucking girl..."  
"I know you're not, Jo, but it's not gonna happen again. It was a mistake."  
"Oh it was a mistake?" Josie fired. "So then you just tripped and like...your dick fell into her or some shit? Is that how that works?"  
"Josie, just relax a minute."  
"No, fuck you. I'm not gonna relax," Josie snapped. "As a matter of fact, I'm done, ok? Don't talk to me. Let me pack my shit and get the fuck out of here."  
"JoJo, don't do this."  
"I'm leaving, Blake. I'm out."  
"Where you gonna go? Your mom's?"   
"No. I'm going to Tahoe like WE were supposed to."  
"So what? I'm just not invited anymore?"  
"Fuck no," Josie said with a scoff as she went back to stuffing her suitcase. "You show up, you get your ass beat."  
Blake scoffed. "By who?"  
"Me, Kari, Jeremy, any number of people who show up," Josie stated. "Ain't a single one gonna be on your side."  
"So we're just done then? It's a wrap? Seven years are just over?"  
"Yup. Pack your shit. Get outta my house. I'll be back in a week."  
"The fuck am I supposed to do, Jo?"  
"That's not really my problem. You made your bed, you fucking lay in it."   
"Jo..."  
"No," Josie interrupted, her head slowly waving back and forth. "Just stop. Go...bang your bitch or something. Just get the fuck outta my face."  
Blake took a deep breath, his immense jaw clenching. He wanted to fight, but there was no use. Nothing he said at this point would even be heard, so he tucked his tail between his legs and headed to the front door. This battle, however, was far from over. 

"I just don't get it," Chris Evans stated, running his hands over his freshly shaved head. "How did I have this so wrong?"  
Jeremy Renner shook his head. "I dunno, man. I wish I could answer that but... I am as confused as you are."  
"I bought a ring, dude. A ring," Chris stated. "I'm over here ready to wife this girl and she says it's over. How could I have not picked up on that? How could I have not noticed something was wrong?" Jeremy just shrugged and shook his head. "I'm sorry, man," Chris continued with a bit of a groan. "My brain is just trying to figure this the fuck out."  
"Don't be sorry," Jeremy argued. "I just wish I could help you out but I don't even know what to say. You and Casey...you guys were perfect. The captain and the cheerleader. I thought... I thought she was it. I really did."  
"You and me both," Chris sighed before taking a swig of the beer in his hand. He fell silent, gazing over the ledge at the lake in front of him. Tahoe was beautiful right now and he was incredibly grateful that Jeremy had opened the doors of his home. The man chuckled lightly and shook his head. "I'm done, dude. I'm hanging it up. No more dating."  
"Don't do that," Jeremy argued, shaking his head. "Don't retire."  
"I have to, dude. I'm fucking exhausted," Chris said with a laugh. "I'm too tired to keep this shit up."  
"Then take a break! Go see some wild oats! You've been off the market for three years, go have some fun!"  
"I don't have any left to sew!" Chris exclaimed. "I'm done with all that, you know this. I just want a nice girl that I can settle down with and...start the next phase, man. I'm over the bullshit."  
"I get it man, I do. Just..." Jeremy stopped talking as he heard the deck door slide open.  
"Sorry to interrupt," a raven haired beauty said, walking outside. "Didn't mean to interrupt."  
"You're fine, babe," Jeremy assured, wrapping an arm around his fiancé's shoulders. "What's up?"  
"Um, JoJo is on her way," the girl, Kari, answered.  
"Just Jo?"  
"She found out Blake's been...having a bit of an affair."  
Jeremy's eyes widened. "What? No."  
"Yeah. She, um, found some pictures on his phone that were...somewhat less than appropriate..."  
"Son of a bitch..."  
"Yeah so she's hopping on a flight and I'll go get her. Should be here by ten or so."  
"Well good. I'm glad we can at least get her outta there."  
"You guys are running the Heartbreak Hotel over here," Chris said with a bit of a laugh.  
"Hey, if it helps you guys out, I'm all for it," Jeremy stated. "We got a good week and a lot of drinking to do."   
"I am all for it." And he was. More than he could even explain. 

"The girls are back!" Jeremy exclaimed, jumping up from the couch as he heard the garage door open.   
Chris, more than a few drinks in, burst into laughter. "So you jump up like we're doing down thing wrong!?"  
"I'm excited!" Jeremy retaliated. "Shut up!"  
"You're so fucking weird," Chris chuckled, even though he was getting up to follow the wound up actor toward the kitchen.   
It took a few seconds before the girls opened the door that led to the adjoining three car garage. Kari walked in first, dragging a mid-sized suitcase behind her and then came Josie; dark hair up in a sloppy bun, short denim cutoff shorts, flip flops and a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off down to the hem, revealing the sides of her black lacy bralette. She looked like she didn't give a fuck and she really didn't.  
"There she is," Jeremy greeted, walking toward the girl.  
"Hey," she sighed with a weak smile as the man's arms wrapped around her shoulders. She dipped her head, her face planting into his shoulder. This hug was exactly what she needed.   
"How are you?" he asked softly, though he knew the answer.   
"Exhausted," Josie answered as she stood up straight and then messed with the bun atop her head. "Kind of numb, I guess."  
"Do I get to go kick his ass?" Jeremy questioned.  
Josie chuckled lightly. "It's not even worth the energy. I gave him the ring and told him to be gone by the time I got back."   
"I'm really sorry, kiddo."  
"Me too," Josie agreed. "Not really looking forward to explaining to my four year old why his daddy isn't there anymore." She sighed again and finally noticed the extra body in the room. "Oh...hi. I'm fucking rude."  
Chris smiled reassuringly. "It's fine, seriously," he assured, extending the left hand toward the girl. "I'm Chris."  
"Josie. Nice to meet you," Josie smiled sweetly.  
"I kinda feel like we've met before..." Chris said, looking at the girl curiously.  
"You have," Kari stated, pushing Josie's suitcase up against the wall. "J's birthday party last year."   
"Oh yeah!" Josie grinned, a bright light almost visibly going off over her head. "We sang 'A Whole New World' together!"  
Chris laughed in remembrance. "Because I was freaking out over your tattoos! Huge Disney fan. HUGE."  
"I remember," Josie laughed. "Well, let's hope we have as much fun this time as last time because lord knows I need the distraction."   
"Cheers to that," Chris said with a sigh before polishing off the beer in his hand.   
"Chris just got dumped," Jeremy explained, heading to the fridge to get the room another round. "Like this morning."  
"No way..."  
Chris's baseball cap covered head slowly began to nod. "Yup. Three years. I thought things were heading one direction but apparently they were heading nowhere."   
"I know that feeling," Josie sighed, cracking open the beer Jeremy had just placed in front of her. "I guess love makes you blind or some shit."  
"Amen."  
"You guys will both..."  
"Nuh-uh," Josie quickly interrupted, drink to her lips, hand up, signaling the man into silence. "Don't even do that. Don't do the 'there's somebody for everyone' bullshit. I was with the man for seven years. Seven. I put him through school. We had a home. We have a son. We were a family. He WAS my someone okay? I mean we were planning a wedding for fucks sake."   
Jeremy nodded in agreement. "You're right. I get it."  
"Do you? Cuz I don't. Why would you throw all of that away for some tramp you met at the gym?" Josie asked. She paused and shook her head. "I take that back. I don't know she's a tramp. For all I know he was lying to her too."  
"JoJo..." Kari began.  
"Ya know...things have felt off for the last like...year. But I just ignored it. I thought we're both busy. We just need some one on one time and it'll be fine. How fucking stupid am I?"  
"You're not stupid," Kari argued. "Not at all."  
"Coulda fooled me," Josie mumbled, her eyes zeroing in on the label she was anxiously picking from the bottle on the granite counter in front of her.   
"Nah, man. He's the stupid one," Chris chimed in. "Anyone that would throw that all away for some random chick, he's a special kind of stupid."  
"You don't even know him," Josie smiled.   
"Doesn't sound like I want to," Chris retorted.   
"I do!" Jeremy jumped in. "He's a real turd!"   
The entire room shook with laughter. "Honey, how drunk are you?" Kari giggled.  
"Pretty," Jeremy answered.   
"I need to catch up," Josie chuckled.  
"We'll get to work," Chris grinned. This was good. He was already feeling better. 

"So how many tattoos do you have?"  
The party had moved out onto the patio, complete with lounge chairs and a glowing fire pit. In the last hour, the ladies had done a pretty good job of catching up to the boys' stage of inebriation. However, at this point in the festivities, Jeremy and Kari were more concerned with cuddling and dozing on a lounge chair than drinking any more.  
The girl had to stop and think, one eye closed, one looking up to the sky. "Well...the Disney sleeve obviously..."  
"Obviously."  
"Um...I've got these bows on the back of my thighs," she said turning her leg to Chris's view. "Like stockings..."  
"That's kinda hot."  
"My back is pretty much covered with various things..."   
"Alright..."  
"And my son's name," Josie said, holding up her list in the light of the fire.  
"What's it say?" Chris asked, eyes squinted.   
"Max," Josie answered. "Maxwell Colt."  
"That's adorable. How old is he?"  
"Four. He'll be five in December."   
"I love kids."  
"You have any?"  
Chris pursed his lips and shook his head. "Nah. Not yet. I want to but...it's not working out real well for me at the moment."   
"Well I'll introduce you to Max. He can fill that void for you easily. Maybe he'll change your mind."  
Chris laughed. "I doubt it."   
"That kid...he is a fireball of energy. Just nonstop. He doesn't stop moving or talking or asking questions," Josie laughed. "But I love him. To pieces. Wouldn't trade him for the world."  
Chris chuckled as his eyes slowly drifted to the lawn chair in between them where Kari and Jeremy had apparently fallen asleep. "Are we that boring or are they just old?"  
"Both," Josie scoffed, polishing off another beer and rising from her chair. "I need a hoodie and another drink."  
"Bring it on, girl," Chris agreed.  
"Good. I will be right back." Josie took Chris's empty bottle and headed inside.   
Chris took a deep breath and gazed in the direction of the expansive lake. It was midnight and everything was quiet, calm. The water was sparkling under the moon, the stars, the various outdoor lights. Despite the terrible start to the day, at this moment, he was enjoying himself. Quite a bit.  
"Wanna go for a walk?" Josie asked, reappearing in a black Nike sweatshirt and handing him a beer.   
"Absolutely," Chris said with a solitary nod as he followed her.  
As they headed out onto the sand, Chris realized the girl still wasn't wearing anything on her feet. "Do you still have something against shoes?" he asked with a grin.  
Josie laughed, kicking her purple pedicured toes through the sand. "I kind of do actually. I'm a hippie at heart. I mean my parents named me Josephine Sunshine so..."  
"Your middle name is Sunshine?"   
Josie nodded. "Yup. It is." Chris stifled a laugh. "Go head. Laugh. Everyone else does."  
"No! I think it's pretty."  
"Well thank you."  
There was a brief silence, but it wasn't awkward. It was nice, comfortable as if it was a silence amongst old friends. He sort of felt like they were, like they were old souls cut from the same cloth. He felt more comfortable with this girl who was practically a stranger than some folks he'd known his whole life.   
"So..." he began, "you always lived in California?"  
"Mostly, except for college."  
"Where was college?"  
"Berklee College of Music, in..."  
"In Boston! I know! I'm from Boston!" Chris exclaimed excitedly.   
"No wonder you're so chill."  
"Aw, thanks."  
"I'm serious. You're not one of these California assholes. I hate it out here, for real. I wish I had never left Boston. Aside from having Max, I guess but... I don't belong here."   
"You like Boston?"  
"I love Boston. It's so...I dunno, different. I mean I can literally do my job anywhere. I don't HAVE to be here..."  
"What do you do? Something musical...I assume."  
Josie chuckled. "I'm a songwriter. And a producer sometimes. Mostly writing though. I'm...apparently good at writing cheesy shitty pop songs."  
Chris laughed. "I am sure they're not shitty."   
"It's pop music. It's not gonna change the world, but it pays the bills."  
"Anything I'd know?"  
"I'm sure if you've turned on the radio you've heard something. I did Ariana Grande's last song, a few from her new album. Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, One Direction...that kind of stuff."   
"Well damn. Look at you girl."  
"Please. I'm not bragging."  
"You should be. You should be proud of yourself. Getting a song on the radio is hard man. I don't imagine it's a hell of a lot different than getting a good movie out," Chris stated.   
Josie shrugged. "You're probably right." She stopped for a moment as they happened on a pile of rocks. Big rocks. More like boulders. "Weird question..."  
"Shoot."  
"You wanna get high?"  
"What...exactly are you referring to?"  
"Just weed," Josie stated. "I'm not like...a huge pothead or something but...it helps my brain shut off so I grabbed some on my way here."   
"I haven't smoked in a long...long time."   
"Me either honestly."   
"Alright, I'm in. Let's do this," Chris stated.  
"Really?"  
"Yay!" 

Chris was laughing uncontrollably at this point as he laid on their giant boulder throne. "Oh my god, that's hilarious."  
"Why?" Josie questioned, though she was definitely laughing too. "You're so mean!"   
"I'm not!" Chris exclaimed. "I just can't picture it! You...and Kari...in some crazy Spice Girls like band... Maybe Kari. I can't see you."  
"Why not?!" Josie cried, staring up at the starry sky, her head resting on the man's bicep. "Am I not hot enough to be a pop star?"  
"I did NOT say that," Chris argued. "You are...incredibly hot. Kind of intimidating but, gorgeous."   
"Aww, that's sweet."  
"Two seconds ago I was mean."  
"Well you're still that," Josie stated. "But go on YouTube. There's music videos. There's proof."  
"Well you can beat your ass I'll be searching for that."   
"Be my guest. Just don't go falling in love with me. It'll be hard, but control yourself."  
"I will do my best," Chris chuckled. Josie looked him in the eyes and instantly started laughing. Chris followed suit though he didn't know why. "What? What's so funny?!"  
"You're so fucking high right now."  
"Me?!" Chris cried. "Me?! What about YOU?! Your eyes are more glazed than a damn donut!"   
"Are not!"  
"Oh I assure you, they are," Chris argued, tightening his arm around her shoulders as she slid closer. He took a deep breath and sighed. "Tonight has been...surprisingly fantastic. Thank you."  
"You don't have to thank me," Josie stated. "I needed it as much as you did."  
"Probably more," Chris stated. "I'm really sorry, by the way, that guy's a fool."   
Josie gulped. "Yeah. Tomorrow's gonna suck."  
"Yeah, probably. Probably the next day too."   
"And the next day...and the day after that...and then the next month..."   
"It'll get better though."  
"I don't know if I believe that right now."  
"I know. But it will. I promise."  
"Okay," Josie said with a sigh as she sat up.   
"No!" Chris argued. "Don't go!"  
"No. I've got to. It's late and I really am not prepared to cry in front of you at this point in time," Josie stated, sliding off her rock slash chair and back into the sand. "You just go...do your YouTube search... Or PornHub whatever you gotta do."   
"You on there too?"  
"Nope. Fuck you. This is over."  
"Aw come on!" Chris whined, jumping from the stone and jogging after the girl. "I thought we were besties!"  
"Not anymore!"  
"Goddammit."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two 

She was awake but she refused to open her eyes. She knew the second she did the pounding in her head would worsen, the dry mouth would only grow more severe and any other hangover symptoms would kick in full blast and she would instantly be miserable. Or more miserable. Last night had given her a very temporary escape from real life, but as her sober brain awoke, it all came rushing back. Every crappy second of it.  
Her desire to remain hidden away under the covers however was interrupted the second she felt a warm, slightly rough hand brush against her thigh. Josie's dark eye snapped open and she sprung out of bed, leaving in her wake a very confused and half asleep Chris.  
"What?!" He exclaimed. "What in the hell happened?"  
"What are you doing here?!" Josie fired back, hustling to pull on her sweatshirt and shorts from the night before. She had on her bra and underwear but in her sober state that wasn't near enough.  
"Are you serious?" Chris asked, rubbing his still exhausted blue eyes.  
"Do I look like I'm joking?" Josie asked. "What happened last night?"  
"You really don't remember?"  
"Jesus Christ, stop playing with me and just fucking tell me!"  
Chris rolled his eyes. "Nothing. Nothing happened, okay? We came in last night, you grabbed a bottle of whisky and told me to follow you. We came in here, we got more wasted, we talked and we passed out. Nothing happened."  
"That's it?" Josie questioned.  
"That's it," Chris said with a single nod.  
"So...I just came in here and like...ripped off all my clothes with...no actual reason to do so?" Josie asked, her cheeks beginning to tint pink at the mere thought.  
Chris chuckled and ran his hands over his nearly shaven head. "Um, yeah. That is pretty much what happened." He threw back the comforter from his lap. "See? Fully clothed."  
Josie sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm an ass. I'm so sorry."  
"For what?" Chris asked with a dismissive laugh. "You didn't do anything wrong."  
"I don't usually act like this. Seriously. I don't get wasted and wind up in bed with random dudes. That's not..."  
"We slept. It is not a big deal."  
"Did I try...anything...anything at all?"  
"No. No, you didn't try anything, and even if you had, there's no way I would've done anything," Chris assured. "I was drunk, but I'm not into taking advantage of women."  
"That's not what I was saying..."  
Chris chuckled and rose to his feet. "I know that," he said, walking toward her. He rested his hands on her shoulders and sighed. "Look, we've both been through some shit in the last twenty four hours. We had fun and maybe things got a little out of hand. We got drunk but...nothing happened. Nothing to be embarrassed about. You just went through and breakup and you're on vacation. You're supposed to be a drunken mess."  
"What about you?" Josie asked softly. "You've got the same sob story.Why weren't you a drunken idiot last night?"  
"Oh I was," Chris argued. "Mine just involved more tears and emotional eating."  
Josie laughed. "I don't remember you crying."  
"I waited until you were asleep," Chris stated. "Look, you're good. I'm not here to judge anything. I've seen and done a lot worse. But...if I can make the few days we have here a little less depressing, for both of us, then that sounds like a pretty good idea to me."  
Josie smirked. "Me too."  
"Good. Now...I'm gonna go shower. And then...we should probably start drinking again."  
Josie scoffed. "Seriously?"  
"Yeah. We're on vacation, right? What else are we supposed to do?"  
Josie laughed as Chris left the room. Well, he wasn't exactly wrong...

"She's been out there a long time," Chris said with a concerned sigh as he leaned against the island in the kitchen. The quartet was supposed to heading out for a relaxing evening of dinner and dancing. Everyone was ready, dressed and antsy to get out the door. Until Josie's cell phone rang. Now the other three had been awaiting the red heads return for nearly an hour. "Should we say something? Go check on her?"  
"She's talking to Blake," Kari said with a sigh. "I think it's best to just leave her alone."  
"Why would she even answer?" Jeremy questioned. "She should just tell him to walk off a bridge and be done with it."  
"She can't, J. You know that," Kari argued. "They have a kid. It's not really that simple."  
"So what? She should stay with him because of Max? Max will be a million times better off without that douchebag."  
"That's absolutely not what I'm saying," Kari argued. "In a perfect world, yes. Walk away and never talk to the scumbag again, but it's not a perfect world. Should she still be with him? Absolutely not, but he's never going to be completely out of her life."  
"I am suddenly really glad none of my relationships ever involved a kid," Chris said with a sigh. "I can't even imagine seeing the person who broke me on a regular fucking basis."  
"It's not an enviable situation," Jeremy agreed. He had a child with his ex wife and could more than definitely speak from personal experience. "I mean, you get used to it and it gets easier. Jo is a tough cookie. She'll be alright."  
"She doesn't look alright," Chris said softly as the girl in question walked back through the door.  
"Here. Someone take this," Josie commanded. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, her cheeks red with tear stains. Kari reached out and took the phone from her best friend's hand. "Unless it's my mom or my kid, I don't care."  
"Okay," Kari nodded. "Are you..."  
"I'm fine," Josie stated firmly. "I just need to freshen up and we can go." She gave the group an quick smile before heading toward the restroom.  
Jeremy's jaw clenched as his head waved back and forth. "I fucking hate that guy."  
"We all do babe," Kari sighed. "We all do."

She'd been sitting outside on a fairly dilapidated picnic table for long enough she'd smoked four cigarettes. It had to have been at least a half an hour as far as she could tell. Josie had lost track of the time and to be honest, the loud music and high spiritus inside weren't exactly conducive to her current state.  
"Can I sit down?"  
Josie looked up to find her new movie star pal standing before her. Khaki shorts, a white polo and a patriots baseball cap. He looked like a regular guy there in the streetlights. She shrugged. "Take your chances. This table is crap and I'm not much better."  
"It's alright. Maybe I could use some silence," Chris stated, taking a seat beside the girl on the rickety bench. Josie held out her pack of Marlboros toward him and Chris accepted. After lighting up he exhaled slowly and leaned back. "So what's up? You've been out here since we finished dinner. You okay?"  
Josie shrugged. "D'know. Not in much of a social mood, I guess." Her eyes diverted to her fiddling fingers but even from his side view he could see her dark eyes welling with tears.  
"Hey," Chris said softly, running his hand down the girl's back. "It's okay. I don't know what he said to you, but it's going to be alright. I promise."  
Josie wiped the black mascara tears from her cheek and laughed. "He's staying with her."  
"What?"  
Josie cleared her throat. "He's...living with her," she repeated. "He left our home of the last...five years and went straight to her house in Malibu. He's shacking up with the mistress."  
"You're fucking kidding me," Chris said with a scoff of disbelief.  
"Oh no. No I definitely am not. Apparently he's been seeing her for like a year. It's not a new thing," Josie explained. She paused and took a deep breath. "And she's pregnant."  
"No..."  
"Yup. He's giving up. He's not even going to try to fight for us because he wants to be there for Melody and the baby. Which is...hysterical to me considering he missed basically my ENTIRE pregnancy without feeling a single ounce of recognizable guilt..."  
Chris blinked his bright blue eyes rapidly. "Wait. Hold on. That's a lot of information."  
"You're telling me," Josie chuckled. She sniffed and paused and wiped away a few more tears then sniffed again. "Ya know, I'm not even saying I would give him another shot. I don't know that I could...but...it would've been really nice if the man I was supposed to marry would've put up a bit more of a fight. Maybe then I wouldn't feel like I'd wasted the last fucking seven years of my life." She had been fighting back the emotions all night, but with the fall of her final word 5)3 floodgates opened and she began sobbing.  
"Hey, hey, hey," Chris soothed, pulling the girl into his arms. He had no idea what to say. Hell, he had no idea how to even begin to comprehend how she felt. But he could, at the very least, hold her while she cried. "I'm so sorry," he said, him pressed into her head. "He's a fucking piece of shit."  
"No. No it's my fault," Josie argued, wiping off her face as she sat up. "I should've known. Like, for real. He hasn't even touched me in like a year. He had to have been getting it somewhere else."  
"That doesn't make it your fault," Chris argued. "It makes him fucking insane."  
Josie chuckled lightly. "Why is that?"  
"Come on! Look at you! As a man, I can confidently say that any man that has the opportunity to touch you and doesn't, is a full blown idiot."  
Josie rolled her eyes and shook her head, but he got a chuckle. "You're ridiculous."  
"I'm not," Chris argued. "I just wanted to see you smile...and it worked." Josie blushed and turned her head away. "What do you say...we go inside and get a drink and maybe see if we can dance your mind off of that douchebag, huh?"  
Josie smiled as she turned back to him. "That sounds pretty good."  
"Alright! Let's go!" Chris exclaimed. "Come on! Drinks on me!"  
"Yeah. You're loaded. Of course they are."  
Chris laughed as he took the girl's hands and pulled her off the bench. "You ain't doing too bad for yourself, kiddo. I'd know. I googled you."  
"You googled me?"  
"Yup. Found some GREAT stuff."  
"You're a creep." 

"Jesus, is he trying to get her pregnant?" Jeremy snarled as he sat sipping a bourbon at the table with his fiancée. He was watching Chris and Josie dance, as he had been for almost an hour. Though, to him, it looked more like the new friends were about to ravage each other there on the floor.  
Kari scoffed. "You playing overprotective dad tonight or are you jealous?"  
"Shut up," Jeremy retaliated. "You know what I meant."  
"No, what I know is that they're grown ups, J. They can take care of themselves."  
"I know that," Jeremy insisted with a roll of his eyes. "But I'm also not sure...THAT...is a good idea."  
"Why not? They're dancing. At least they're both finally smiling."  
"Yeah, until feelings get involved and one of them gets hurt. Mostly likely Jo. You know how she is."  
"I do. She's my best friend, I know better than anybody. But I also know that she had spent the last seven years with a man who barely paid any attention to her."  
"Trust me, I know," Jeremy said with a heavy sigh. He put the glass to his lips, sipped and set it back down. It tasted more like melted ice cubes than bourbon and he was definitely going to need another. Where was the damn waitress...  
"Is that what this is?"  
"Hmm?"  
"You feel guilty about introducing her to Blake," Kari stated.  
He had introduced them, it was true. He and Kari had only recently started dating when he met Blake. The man was a personal trainer, hired by Marvel before the first Avengers film. One evening Jeremy had invited the jacked up meathead to a small show his band was playing. Kari brought Josie and the rest was history. And not a good one.  
Jeremy sighed again. "I just don't want to be in any way responsible for her getting hurt again. Nothing against Chris, but I know him. She's not his type. And even if she was, he always hos out after a breakup and Josie's not the rebound girl. Especially right now. She can't handle that."  
"I think you would be a bit surprised at what JoJo can handle. She hasn't always been the relationship kind of girl. When we toured, she more than definitely had her fun. Maybe that's what she needs right now." "She's changed, Kari. You've said so yourself."  
"Maybe. And maybe after almost ten years of an empty bullshit shell of a relationship a good ol one and done is exactly what she needs. And there are worse people than Chris Evans she could choose to do that with."  
Jeremy chuckled and shook his head. "I honestly can't believe you're encouraging this. Who are you?"  
"I'm not...necessarily," Kari argued with a shrug. "8 just want her happy and...in the last twenty four hours she's smiled more than I've seen her smile in years."  
"Yeah. Yeah that's true."  
"So maybe it's not so bad?"  
Jeremy laughed. "Okay. Okay, maybe not." 

"Holy shit," Chris said with a laugh. He was out of breath as he and Josie exited the building after their lengthy dance party. It was warm outside but the breeze was cool and felt nice against his sweat beaded skin. "I haven't danced that much in a long time."  
"Me either," Josie smiled in agreement as she lit up a smoke. "Blake didn't exactly like going out. Not with me anyway."  
"The fuck is wrong with that guy?" Chris asked, his speech slurring a bit. "I'd fucking take you everywhere if I could."  
"Stop."  
"You stop," he commanded. "I'm serious! If the last twenty four hours are any indication, you just might be the most funnest girl I've ever met."  
Josie chuckled. "I suppose I have my moments."  
"We all do," Chris said softly, watching Josie's eyes drift to the pavement below their feet. "Why do you always look away when I say something remotely nice?"  
Josie laughed almost nervously and shrugged. "I don't know. I've never been good at compliments...or criticism. I guess...that's kind of why I stepped behind the scenes. The spotlight just got to be way too much."  
"I understand that entirely," Chris stated with a sympathetic nod. "Sometimes my favorite days are the ones no one notices me. Where I just blend in like a regular member of society." He scoffed. "Those are few and far between nowadays."  
"Yep. That's why I produce and write under a different name. If no one knows it's me, no one cares about me."  
"Well, you deserve a bit of recognition."  
"And I get it. They just...give it to a character I guess. I don't do award shows or anything but...I don't really want to."  
"So you've won awards and you didn't get them?"  
"Oh I got them, just not in person at the show."  
"What've you won?"  
Josie thought a moment. "Um...a couple VMAs. Couple Teen Choice and People's Choice. Couple AMAs. Three Grammys..."  
Chris's eyes nearly shot out of his head. "You have Grammys?! Grammys and no one knows who you are?!"  
"Oh and I got an Oscar last year as a cowriter for song of the year."  
"That's fucking incredible!"  
Josie shrugged. "I guess. They don't really mean anything."  
"They mean you're fucking talented is what they mean!" Chris exclaimed. "I can't believe Blake never made you go. I'd want to show off how incredible my girl was."  
Josie scoffed at the thought. "Blake thought he was getting the pop star. Skimpy clothes. Parties. He kind of checked out once he realized that wasn't who I am anymore."  
"He's an idiot. God I don't even know him and he might literally be the dumbest person I know." Chris watched Josie crack a weak smile which made him smile too. "You're beautiful."  
"Shut the fuck up," Josie laughed.  
"I'm serious!"  
"You're drunk."  
"My eyes still work!" Chris insisted. "Seriously. You're fucking gorgeous. And...you're talented and funny and sweet and smart and...some day, I promise you he is going to realize what he lost. And it's going to be too late because you're going to find someone who treats you like the queen you fucking are."  
"And just what in the hell am I supposed to say to that?" Josie asked, looking up into the night sky. Looking him in the face would only cause her to blush the color of a fire truck.  
Chris shrugged. "You don't have to say anything. It's the truth."  
"Why do we always talk about my mess? Didn't you just get dumped too? Let's talk about that."  
Chris laughed. "Yeah but I'm fine."  
"Are you?" Josie questioned, looking deep into the movie star's eyes. "Really?"  
Chris licked his lips and shrugged. "I dunno. I think I am. It's kind of weird. I guess...the more I think about it, the more I knew Casey wasn't the one. Looking back now...there are so many things that should've told me we weren't right. I'm...thirty five years old and all I want is to get married and have a family and I think that overshadowed everything else. I was focusing on the end result and not the person I was with. Sometimes I feel like I'm running out of time. So I ignored all the negative signs and just pushed forward."  
"She's an idiot too, you know that right?" Josie stated. "Maybe we should set her and Blake up."  
Chris chuckled. "They'd probably be perfect for each other. I can just swoop in and take his little family."  
Josie scoffed. "His family? Ha. Blake was a dad because of biology, not because he wanted to be. Honestly with us not together and him not in the house, I wouldn't be surprised if Max never saw him again."  
"Are you serious?"  
"Yup," Josie sighed. "I don't know what I'm going to tell Max. He...he absolutely worships Blake. He's four and I have never seen a kid try so hard to impress his daddy. It breaks my fucking heart."  
"Kids are resilient. He's gonna be okay. Especially because he has a fantastic mom."  
"I should've never let him come back."  
"Huh?"  
Josie sighed again. Her big secret and she was about to spill it to basically a stranger. "Blake...left when he found out I was pregnant. He actually didn't even see the birth. Max was probably about six months old when he came back into the picture."  
"What? Holy shit."  
"I didn't tell anyone. Not even Kari or Jeremy. I made up some excuse about him being in school out of town or some stupid shit. I pretended everything was fine."  
"Why?"  
Josie shrugged. "I don't know. I was embarrassed. Felt like a failure..."  
"Him being a piece of shit is not your failure, it's his. And maybe his parents."  
"I know. I just..." Josie shook her head. "I dunno. Just...promise me you won't say anything. You are literally the only person that knows the truth. Even my mom thought he was in school."  
"I won't say a word."  
"Thank you."  
"You gotta promise ME something, though."  
"What's that?"  
"He doesn't get to come back this time."  
"Chris, I..."  
"No. I know it sucks and it's hard but...you can't keep doing this to yourself. Or to Max. Especially to Max."  
"I know."  
"So it's a promise?"  
Josie groaned. "It's a promise. Yes. Fine."  
"Okay. Gimme your phone."  
Josie eyed him skeptically. "Why?"  
"Just give it to me."  
She slowly pulled her phone from her purse. "You can't delete him. We do have a child."  
"That's not what I'm doing," Chris stated as the phone screen illuminated his face. "I'm putting my number in there so when you have...a moment of weakness, you can call me instead. Or...if you need a sitter. I love kids."  
Josie laughed and took her phone back. "Does this mean we're real friends now? Not just vacation buddies?"  
"I guess so. You up for it?"  
"I'm down."  
"Good."  
"Just, don't send me stupid emojis all day long," Josie earned as they headed back inside. "I'll block your ass."  
"And just when I thought you were fun."


	3. Chapter 3

"Girl, you are kid free for three weeks! Come on! Liven up! Let's get another drink."  
"I don't want another drink," Josie stated firmly. "I've been at work all day, came home to Max having a meltdown because he realized I wasn't going to Napa, and once I finally got him calmed down and out the door, I had more work to do. I am really just exhausted in more ways than I can even explain."  
And with good reason. In the four months since she returned, Josie had moved, written and sold roughly ten or so songs, gotten her own recording studio, hired a staff, plus lined up three huge producing gigs for the future. On top of the work life insanity, there was Max, preschool, her mother was (temporarily) living with them and somehow, somewhere Josie had managed to take up teaching a dance workshop. A 90s-2000s Pop dance workshop. Her girl band days were still coming in handy. Plus it was fun. And she needed fun.  
In addition to all of the life changes, Josie had also gone through the customary post breakup physical changes. New hair, new clothes, weight loss, everything that would make Blake shit his pants if he ever laid eyes on her. She had a newfound strut to her step, and she liked it. She finally felt like herself. Her REAL self, not the shell of a woman she'd let her relationship with Blake turn her into.  
"Jo! Come on!" Lola, her platinum haired cousin, exclaimed. Lola was always the most outgoing of the duo, whether it was at her job behind the desk of Josie's studio, or simply when the girls went to lunch. Occasionally she could coax Josie into joining her shenanigans, but tonight didn't look to be one of those nights. "Let's do a shot. Something. Anything. We can go somewhere else if you want."  
"Lola, I haven't slept in my bed, alone, in four months. Right now, that's all I want to do."  
"Well...maybe we should find you a more...adult...bed buddy."  
"Fuck no. No. Shut up."  
"Jo! You haven't been out since Blake left and you ain't gotten laid in even longer. It's time to knock the cobwebs off the old..."  
"Don't. Don't you fucking say it. I will walk outta here right now."  
"I'm just saying: you're thirty three. You should be able to act like it every once in awhile."  
Josie scoffed. "I'm a thirty three year old single mother who's kid has massive separation anxiety because his deadbeat father disappeared four months ago and never looked back."  
"He hasn't even called?" Lola asked, her spunk a bit lighter than it had been. She knew what Josie was dealing with and she hated it. Max refused to let Josie leave the room, let alone the house, without him. If she even tried, there was an immediate tantrum. He wouldn't sleep in his own bed, he wouldn't go to school unless Josie was there to drop him off and pick him up. It was a mess and Josie had no idea what to do.  
"No. So I'm sorry if I can't be the perfect party girl, but Max comes first. Max is priority."  
"As he should be...but he's not here right now. He is with your mother and he is perfectly fine. So live. That was the whole point of Jane taking him."  
Just as Josie was about to run her mouth in retaliation, a waiter approached with a tray, carrying two shots of tequila. Instead, her eyes squinted into a scowl at Lola. "Dammit, Lo..."  
"It wasn't me!" Lola exclaimed, shouting her innocence so loud the entire bar turned and looked. "This is so not my fault!"  
The waiter laughed. "She's right. From the gentleman back there."  
Josie, confused, took the shot garnished with a lime wedge and leaned out of her seat. As soon as she was passed Lola's head, she saw a familiar, bearded face in a baseball cap grinning back at her. "No fucking way," she said softly.  
Lola was now confused as she watched Josie morph into a smiling, excited, practically squealing ball of joy. Lola's eyes followed Josie as she headed about three booths back, all but skipping into the arms of the baseball cap wearing, blue eyed movie star.  
"What're you doing here?!" Josie shrieked as Chris's embrace hoisted her off the ground. "You're not supposed to be back until tomorrow!"  
"Scott has an audition so we came back early," Chris answered, squeezing the girl as tightly as he could.  
"You were supposed to say because you missed me," Josie stated as her feet finally found the floor once again.  
"And that, of course," Chris chuckled.  
Josie's friendship with Chris had only deepened the last four months. Despite him being in Vancouver and then Boston, they had been in constant contact. Emails, phone calls, text, video chats, whatever they had time for. It was safe to say that chris had become her rock. A listening ear when she needed it and a constant source of comfort, encouragement, laughter and support. He had quickly become one of Josie's best friends, and her one of his.  
"God! Look at you!" Chris practically cheered, giving the girl a once, maybe twice, over. His smile (and those eyes) were glowing in the dim bar light and it made Josie's cheeks flush a bright red. "You look fucking incredible! Like a completely different person!"  
Josie arched an extremely well groomed eyebrow high onto her forehead. "And what was wrong with the old me?"  
Chris tilted his head and gave her a disapproving stare. "That is not what I meant. Stop."  
"I'm just fucking with you," Josie said in a taunting tone as she bounced into his arms once again.  
Chris laughed and pressed his lips against the now shimmering red hair atop her head. "Starting already huh? I been back twenty minutes."  
"Yeah! Mr I'll Call You the Second I Land."  
"I literally just got here," Chris insisted. "I was going to call you tomorrow."  
"Sure."  
"Jesus, woman. Busting my balls already," Chris growled through gritted teeth. He wrapped an arm around her neck and acted as though he was about to royally mess up the red floof of hair atop her head. Last time he'd seen his Josie, in person anyway, she had long, dark locks, down to the middle of her back. Now it was almost all gone. The sides and back were little more than completely bald while the chin length top was dyed bright red, and currently fashioned into some fancy looking Mohawk. She looked like a total badass, which she was, and thanks partially to him, she totally felt like. "Alright boys, this is the girl I keep telling you about. Jo, this is my little brother Scott, that is Dave, Johnson and Smalls."  
Josie shook each of the mens' hands. "Smalls, huh?"  
"Brady," the super tan, super ripped, definitely in no way small man insisted. "I was really tiny in school so it just kind of..."  
"You were tiny? Compared to this?" Josie interrupted, pointing her thumb over her shoulder at Chris. "I've seen pictures."  
"Hey! That was a long time ago!" Chris exclaimed.  
"Honey, your thighs barely touch," Josie stated.  
Chris snarled. "Ya know, I realize I am a huge physical disappointment but if we could stop rubbing it in..."  
"Oh, poor baby," Josie teased, throwing his arms around his neck and her purple lips into his cheek. "It's okay. I still love you."  
"Oh yeah, I can tell. I can feel all sorts of love here right now," Chris retorted, trying not to laugh. "You gonna invite your friend over or what?"  
"Oh shit. I forgot," Josie laughed. "Lo! Get back here!"  
Lola sighed and did as instructed, grabbing the girls' beers and bags from the booth before walking back.  
"Boys this is Lola, Lola, this is the boys."  
"Hello boys," Lola greeted with a laugh and a wave.  
"I think our night just got a bit more fun," Chris smiled, his eyes staring into Josie's, who was still hanging of his shoulder.  
"I think you're right." 

"Do we need to leave you two alone?" Dave chuckled at Chris as the girls jointly made their way to the restroom. Hours had passed and many a drink had been consumed. There had been a plethora of stories and laughs and jokes and taunts, but all the while, Chris and Josie had been focused on one thing: each other.  
"What? No," Chris dismissed.  
"You guys are all over each other," Dave insisted. "I feel like I'm about to witness something I don't really care to."  
"Knock it off," Chris commanded. "We're just friends."  
"Just friends my ass," Scott chuckled. "You're so trying to sleep with her."  
"I am not!" Chris exclaimed. "We're flirty, okay? That's it."  
"Flirty? She's basically been on your lap the entire night!" Dave exclaimed. "And you don't seem to mind!" Chris stayed silent and shook his head. "I ain't mad. Girl is hot, but if you need us to go, just let us know."  
Chris shook his head again. "You guys are ridiculous."  
"Alright, well if you don't care, then there's no reason I can't make a move, right?" the one they simply called Johnson asked.  
Chris got a bit of a glare to his eye but still refused to admit it. "I mean if you want. I wouldn't recommend it."  
"Why not?"  
"She's been through a ton of shit in the last few months. She's not even interested in dating."  
"Who said anything about dating?" Johnson responded with a wink.  
Chris rolled his eyes. "No. She's not that kind of girl."  
"What kind of girl?" Dave asked.  
"She doesn't do the one night stand thing, ok? She's not into it."  
"So you want something real?"  
"Yeah..." Chris suddenly realized what'd he'd just answered. "No. Goddammit you guys. I'm too drunk for this. She's not even my type."  
"She's breathing. She's your type," Scott snickered taking a sip off a beer bottle as he received a congratulatory nudge from Johnson.  
"Fuck off," Chris commanded. "She's had a rough year, okay? Do we flirt? Absolutely. I will not deny that but...I ain't going there. She doesn't need any more bullshit in her life and I am not prepared to offer anything serious so...off limits."  
"But do you like her?" Scott asked. "LIKE like her."  
"Honestly? Not really. Not like that. I love her. She's a great girl and she's beautiful and sweet and talented but...it ain't serious. She kinda scares me."  
"Why?" Brady laughed.  
"Look at her!" Chris exclaimed. "She could kick my ass! And she would! She's like... she's that badass, tatted up porn star. You love watching her. You'd give anything to fuck her, but you're not taking her home to mom."  
Scott stared at his brother, stunned at his response. "Really? Wow, dude."  
"What?!" Chris asked. "I'm just being honest! I thought this was the circle of trust here!"  
"You just called her a porn star!"  
"No. No that's not what I did."  
"That's a shitty fucking thing to say, man."  
"Oh come on, Scott," Chris said with a scoff of dismissal. "What would Mom say if I walked in the door with her? Head shaved, a million tattoos, all of that."  
"Mom wouldn't say shit and you know it. This is all your bullshit."  
"My bullshit? What bullshit is that exactly?"  
"Have you ever thought that maybe, just maybe, all of your relationships have failed because you date the same fucking girl all the time?" Scott asked. "I love you, man, but you can be a real superficial prick."  
"I'm not trying to be an asshole!" Chris exclaimed with a laugh. "Jesus!"  
"You just said all you want to do is fuck her."  
"No. No that's not what I said. At all."  
"Really? Well how do you think she would've felt if she heard you?" Scott asked.  
"I wouldn't say it to her!"  
"And there's my point," Scott stated.  
"Why are you getting so offended?" Chris asked. "You barely fucking know her. Why are you so mad?"  
"Maybe I'm just tired of you dismissing amazing women because they don't fit into your perfect cookie cutter girl next door bullshit."  
"Wow," Chris scoffed. "Fuckin wow, dude. Didn't realize I was such a fucking asshole. Thank you. Thank you for bringing that to my attention."  
"You're welcome," Scott stated with a sigh. "I need a drink."  
Chris waited for his brother to walk away before he turned back to his friends, his expression nothing short of bewilderment. "Please tell me I'm not insane. That was crazy right? Am I that big of a douchebag?"  
Brady, Dave and Johnson all just stared at each other, somewhat awkwardly. "Well, I mean..." Brady began.  
"What?!" Chris exclaimed. "Come on! I'm not!"  
"He's kinda got a point," Johnson stated. "You do have a very specific type."  
"Why is that bad?" Chris asked. "I don't get it. Doesn't everyone have a type?"  
"Yeah, yeah, of course," Johnson nodded, "but man, you've been raving about this girl since the second you met her. I'm talking like nonstop. I could've sketched her damn face before I even saw her. All the signs point to you having a thing for this chick but you're sitting here denying it because of what? A few tattoos and a haircut? That ain't nothing."  
"No, I'm not... I'm not denying anything..." Chris paused and ran his hands over his face. "It's not her, okay? I fucking adore her. She's incredible. I just...I'm not on the relationship train right now and I know she is. I mean, not that she wants a relationship with me but just in general. Like she's not... holy shit I'm confused now."  
Dave chuckled. "I'm just saying, don't cast her out because she doesn't look like the usual model types you come home with."  
"Am I really that shallow?"  
"Do we need to bring up your dating profile?" Dave asked. "You have never dated a girl who is any less than a fifteen on a ten point scale."  
"I really don't feel like I should be ashamed of that," Chris said with a triumphant smirk.  
"Not ashamed, no. But it isn't working. Maybe it's time to try something new."  
Chris rolled his eyes. "You guys are relentless," he said softly as both the girls and his brother returned to the table.  
"Your little brother is a hero," Josie stated, settling back into the booth next to Chris.  
"Oh yeah? Whys that?" Chris asked, glancing up at Scott who was still glaring at him and standing perfectly still arms folded across his chest.  
"Some douche at the bar was trying to pick us up. He swooped in, pretending to be my heroic boyfriend," Josie smiled, looking up at Scott. "You Evans boys are the dream."  
"Oh yeah," Scott said. "We're real winners. Or at least I am."  
"Aw, come on now," Josie smiled, brushing her hand against Chris's arm. "Chris would've saved us if he was there."  
"Well I can't protect you from all the assholes. Just the ones that make themselves known," Scott stated, his eyes glued to Chris. "Anyway, my audition is early. I think I'm gonna take off."  
"No! Don't leave!" Josie whined.  
Scott chuckled. "I have to," he stated. "We're on for lunch tomorrow, though right?"  
"Absolutely. Just give me a call."  
"I will," Scott said with a smile and a nod.  
"Wait!" Lola shouted. "You live out west right?"  
"Yeah. Want a ride?"  
"Yup! Let's go," Lola insisted sliding out of her side of the booth.  
"Seriously? You're just leaving me here?" Josie asked.  
"I think you're fine," Lola retorted. "You and actor boy there both live in the Hills. Hitch a ride with him. Bye!"  
Josie shook her head as Lola and Scott headed for the door. "She drags me out then she abandons me. Real cool."  
"We got you, girl," Dave reassured. "Shots?"  
"Shots." 

"So...you're going to lunch with my brother tomorrow, huh?" Chris asked as he and Josie settled into their ride home. They both owned homes in the Hollywood Hills, unbeknownst to both, just a mile from each other. The ride from the bar would be about twenty minutes, if traffic cooperated. Although, at after two in the morning, both of the intoxicated parties likely wouldn't know if they ended up in Seattle.  
"Yeah," Josie stated, putting on her seatbelt with a forceful click. "Is that a problem?"  
"No. No, not at all," Chris argued. "I was just kind of hoping we could hang out tomorrow."  
"It's just lunch. There's a whole lotta day left," Josie teased. Chris cracked a small smile but then turned and looked out the window. "Okay, what's up with you? You got kinda weird there toward the end of the night."  
"Me? No. Nothing. I'm fine," Chris insisted.  
"You're lying," Josie argued. "I can see it in those sparkly blue eyes. What's wrong, handsome?"  
Chris took a deep breath. "Okay. We're just friends, right?"  
Josie eyed him, confused and delivered a slow, singular nod. "Um...last I checked. Why?"  
"I don't know. The guys were ragging on me. They kept saying we're obviously more and I don't..."  
"And that offends you?"  
"No! No!" Chris laughed and shook his head. "Jesus I can't stop putting my foot in my mouth."  
"So what is it? Why does that bother you?"  
"I just wanna make sure I'm not leading you on. I know we're flirty and weird and we may cross some typical friendship lines but...I don't want to date you."  
"Gee thanks."  
"Goddammit!" Chris exclaimed. He took a deep breath and paused. "Not YOU specifically, okay? I don't wanna date anyone."  
"Chris, I get it. I'm not into dating either. You're fine."  
"So you're not secretly in love with me?"  
"Well maybe. I mean I did bang a lookalike in my last porno."  
Chris's blue eyes went wide with horror. "He told you."  
Josie laughed. "Yeah. He might've mentioned it. I'm pretty flattered you think I'm hot enough to do porn, actually."  
"Oh my God," Chris groaned, burying his face in his hands. "Oh my God. I'm so sorry."  
"Chris, its fine," Josie chuckled.  
"No, man, it's not. That's a shitty thing to fucking say. I was trying to make an analogy and I chose the way wrong one and it was fucking terrible and I'm sorry..."  
"It's fine, Chris. Really," Josie insisted. "I'm not upset."  
"Good because I fucking adore you and I definitely don't want you to think otherwise. Ever. Fucking ever."  
"Babe, its okay," Josie stated again, resting her hand on Chris's leg. "Relax."  
Chris looked at the girl for a moment, both staring silently before bursting into giggles. "Oh my God. I'm so drunk."  
"Me too. It's okay," Josie giggled. "It was getting real deep."  
Chris laughed loudly, wrapping an arm around Josie's shoulders as she leaned into him. He kissed the top of her head and inhaled deeply. She smelled like vanilla. Vanilla and a hint of lavender. "So we should get dinner tomorrow."  
"But not a date, right? Because I'm appalling."  
"Oh shut the fuck up. I compared you to a porn star. That does not equate to appalling."  
"Oh, okay. So are you gonna like deliver me a pizza and I answer the door in a g string..."  
Chris's eyebrows arched high. "I mean if that's what you want, I definitely wouldn't say no..."  
"Of course you wouldn't."  
"Of course I wouldn't," Chris repeated with a sigh as Josie's head laid to rest on his shoulder. He took a deep breath, inhaling her scent again. He was oddly comfortable with her, but it didn't mean anything. They were just friends. Really, really good friends. That's all. That's all they ever would be. She wasn't his type. Not at all.


	4. Chapter 4

"You're coming right?"  
"That's a bit personal, don't you think?"  
There was a brief pause before Chris let out a loud guffaw. "Oh come on!" he cried. "To the party! I meant are you coming to the party?"  
Chris had been back in the City of Angels for a grand total of five days. Five days and he had barely left Josie's side or vice versa. They lived within walking distance of each other and considering they did pretty much everything together, it was pretty convenient. Josie, by some miracle of god, or miracle of Chris rather, had decided it was time for a vacation. More of a stay-cation, rather, but regardless, the time off was much needed.  
"Of course I'm coming, dumbass," Josie mocked. "I didn't spend the last two days running around this stupid city helping you plan things and stock up on supplies to not show up. You crazy?"  
"Alright. Jesus. Calm down."  
"I mean, really, it's my party..."  
"Oh excuse me? Why are we having it at my house then?"  
"It's bigger."  
"You're an ass."  
"Okay, who made the playlist?"  
"You."  
"Who cleaned your house yesterday?"  
"Nola."  
"Christopher!"  
"Okay, okay, you. It's your party. You got the food, you procured the booze, it's all yours."  
"Good boy. You and Scotty make up yet?"  
"Yeah we're fine," Chris answered with a sigh. "I'm starting to think he might have a crush on you. It's weird."  
"Well I mean, who could blame him?"  
Chris chuckled. "Wow. Someone's got their sassy pants on today."  
"When don't I?"  
"Fair."  
"Besides, maybe Scott is just a real man and doesn't find me completely terrifying."  
Chris rolled his icy blue eyes. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?"  
"Nope."  
"Great. G-R-E-A-T. Great," Chris groaned. "I'm gonna order dinner before. Come over in like...two hours?"  
"Can't. Got plans."  
"Oooh! Hot date?"  
"Yes. With my cousin."  
"Alright. Kinky. But do you."  
"Shut up," Josie laughed. "Lola and I will see you later."  
"Not if I see you first. Byeeee."  
"Bye." Josie hung up and sighed. Sure, she and Lola were going to dinner, but more importantly? She really needed to decide what to wear. 

"Coming, coming, coming!" Chris shouted, stumbling down the stairs as he pulled the red and blue flannel over his back. He was ready: crisp pair of jeans, white V-neck, hair slicked back. Now Josie was here and the fun could really begin. However, when he opened the door, it wasn't Josie's face that greeted him.  
He eyed the lone Lola with an air of disappointment and a furrowed brow. "No Jo?"  
"Nice to see you too, dick," Lola sighed, inviting herself in. "She's...at home. Her party seems to be broken."  
"No! No! She's gotta come!" Chris cried. "What the fuck happened?"  
"We ran into Blake at dinner."  
Chris's expression went all but blank. "What?"  
"Yeah. With baby mama...who's name is apparently Meredith. And they are...apparently...married."  
Chris nearly choked on his own saliva. "No. No no no. Oh god." He didn't wait a solitary second before he pushed his way past the blonde. "I gotta go."  
"What?! What if people show up?!"  
"Let em in! Booze and snacks into the kitchen. Playlist is queued up. I'll be right back!" Chris quickly escaped and disappeared with a bolt down the street.  
Lola rolled her chocolate brown doe eyes and headed into the kitchen. "I need a fucking drink." 

"Jo?" Chris called, walking right in the girl's home. She'd made the mistake of showing him where her hide-a-key was (or used it in front of him rather) when she'd locked herself out. Now he was just hoping he didn't get smacked as he came bursting in the back door.  
Josie appeared in the doorway into the living room, dressed in sweats, tears in her eyes, and definitely not ready for any sort of party. "What the fuck dude? What are you doing?"  
"That is EXACTLY what I was about to ask you," Chris retorted. "There's a huge party about to go off about three doors down. Remember?"  
"Okay, you cannot just sneak into my house whenever you feel like it, alright?" Josie stated, sniffling and then running her eyes on the sleeve of her sweatshirt.  
"Would you have let me in?"  
"Probably not," Josie mumbled, heading to the fridge. There was a moment of silence, a bit of an awkward one. He was waiting for Josie to offer up the evening's pre-party events, but by the silence it appeared that wouldn't be happening. "Jo, come on. Talk to me."  
"I don't wanna talk about it."  
"Okay, that's fine. Lola already filled me in, but you're not just gonna sit here and wallow all night..."  
"And why not?"  
"Because I said so! You're my date! You can't just abandon me!" Chris exclaimed. "This is OUR party! You worked harder on this shit than I did!"  
"Chris, I'm sorry, okay? I'm just really not in the mood."  
"Babe. Baaaabe," Chris whined as he moved closer. He took her hand and pulled her toward him, until his hands were cupped around her chin and his forehead rested upon hers. "You can NOT give him that power. He doesn't deserve it. He doesn't deserve to have any effect on your life anymore."  
"He's married, Chris. MARRIED. We broke up five months ago and he is married," Josie stated, trying to keep her tears at bay, though it wasn't exactly working. "Do you know how long I had to press him to even begin planning our wedding?"  
"I do," Chris nodded, their heads still together. "I know, babe. It's awful and it sucks and..."  
"Why do I even care?!" Josie explained suddenly as she jerked out of Chris's grasp. "It shouldn't even bother me!"  
"No, Jo. If I found out Casey was hitched I would have a bit...of a meltdown. It's okay," Chris insisted. He moved toward her once again and ran his thumbs under her eyes. "You are absolutely allowed to be upset...but do NOT let him ruin our night. We have an amazing night planned and he can straight up fuck off. In fact...where were you? I'll go find him and knock him out now."  
Josie laughed as she wiped the last of the tears from her cheek. "Why can't you just let me mope? Why do you gotta make me laugh?"  
"It's actually entirely selfish. I won't be able to have fun if I think about you over here watching Steel Magnolias and crying."  
"Who watches Steel Magnolias when they're already emotional?!"  
"It's a great movie!"  
"True, but..."  
"Okay, enough. Go get your hot ass dressed because we gotta go. I just left your cousin alone with the impending arrival of some really shady characters."  
"They're your friends."  
"I know, but they're shady. So let's go."  
"Why are you so perfect? I hate you."  
"I think the word you're looking for is love."  
"Oh dream on, cowboy," Josie laughed.  
"Oh, I will, cow...girl...now go!" Chris laughed. He wound up as Josie walked past him and smacked her sharply on the ass. He chuckled to himself triumphantly as he dodged her retaliation. He won. He usually did. 

It was only forty five minutes later before Chris and Josie were back at his place. Somehow they had managed to beat most of the guests but the second they re-entered Casa de Evans, everyone who had been invited (and a couple who hadn't) arrived and the real party began.  
"Who made this playlist?" Dave asked Chris as the men headed to the kitchen for more drinks. "You hire a deejay?"  
Chris chuckled. "Nah. Jo. It's pretty good."  
"It's excellent," Dave agreed. "You and Jo...you guys been spending a lot of time together since you got back."  
"Mhmm."  
"Like...a LOT...like blowing me off to hang out with her..."  
"What're you getting at?" Chris asked with a laugh. "We're not dating. We're still just friends."  
"Come on, man! This isn't even your party! Look around! You're a beers in the bathtub kind of guy. This is like...a full bar...snacks...this is a chick's party."  
"Okay, okay," Chris laughed. "It was mostly her. I'm just...hosting I guess." He looked out into the living room and found the girl in the crowd. He'd caught himself staring at her more than usual.It could've been because he was checking on her or because of the drinks or maybe it was because in the last four months, he hadn't even kissed a girl, which for Chris Evans was a feat in and of itself. Whatever it was he had noticed. And with Dave's inquisition, he apparently wasn't the only one. But who could blame him? She looked incredible: tight, white skinny jeans, black strappy heels and some sort of lacy bodysuit with a deep v neck that looked more like lingerie than a shirt and left very little to the imagination. If Blake had been there, he would've choked on his own tongue and that was likely her intent. Chris could only hide his staring for so long, and the drunker he got, the less he could avoid it.  
"You are losing it, man," Dave said with a laugh, delivering a sharp slap to his friend's shoulder. "You are so fucked."  
"What? No. Shut up," chris commanded. "You don't know what you're talking about."  
"Dude come on! You're fucking obsessed with her!" Dave practically screamed. "Why won't you just fucking admit it?! I'm not saying you're in love with her but you more than definitely want to fuck her. Pretty sure even she can tell at this point."  
Chris snarled. "I don't wanna have this conversation. I just wanna enjoy my party. That's it."  
"Just say it, man. Say it once. Just admit you wanna bang her and I will drop it."  
"I'm not doing that. Fuck you." Chris smirked as he began to walk away.  
"Chris!"  
Chris simply raised his middle finger into the air and continued walking away. Even if he did, he sure wasn't going to admit it to Dave. 

"Chris! Fucking pull it together!"  
"I'm sorry!" Chris shouted. It was well after midnight. The group had gotten a bit smaller, now only the core from the other night remained (plus two extra girls Dave had brought along.) at this point in the night, everyone was stumbling and slurring and Chris, Scott, Lola and Josie were lost in an overly competitive game of beer pong. "I cannot focus when she's...all...bent over the cups like that..."  
"She's doing it on purpose!" Scott shouted. "Get the tits outta your head for twelve fucking seconds and make a shot!"  
"MAKE HER PUT SOME FUCKING CLOTHES ON!" Chris shouted back. "It's not fair! I can't even retaliate? What am I supposed to do? Whip my dick out?!"  
"Take off your shirt!" Dave called, cupping his hands around his mouth.  
"Won't work," Josie argued with a wave of her head. "Who hasn't seen him shirtless? Maybe my dead grandma."  
"You asshole!" Chris cried. "I feel like I'm being shamed here."  
"I didn't say it was a bad thing...but seriously. Most of the world has seen you shirtless AND with a banana up your ass."  
"Ya know what? Fuck you. I'm doing it out of spite now," Chris said, his eyes locked on Josie, only to break when he tugged his V-neck over his head. "There. Fine. Now go."  
"You're so pale. You cold?"  
Chris's jaw clenched. "You're such a fucking jerk."  
"Aw poor baby."  
"Ok, ok! You guys can fuck later and get all this tension out," Scott interrupted. "Jesus. Just finish the fucking game."  
"Are you sure?" Lola spoke up. "You've only got two cups left. We're gonna win."  
"Just fuckin go," Scott commanded.  
"Fine!" Lola shouted back. She squared up to the table and quickly launched the ping pong ball in her hand, sinking it instantly in one of two remaining cups on the boys' side. "BOOM!"  
"Yeah!" Josie cried in celebration. "Take that!"  
"Fuck you. Seriously," Chris stated as his brother picked up the cup.  
"Jo, no pressure, but it's all on you," Lola stated, rubbing her cousin's shoulders. "You make this shot and they have to drink whatever's on the table."  
"Excuse you?" Chris snapped. "Since when was that the rule?"  
"Look, I don't know how you East Coast assholes play, but here in California, if the team makes both of their final shots, the LOSERS clear the table."  
"No. Fuck that. Fuck you," Chris stated. His Boston accent got thicker the drunker he got and it was kind of adorable. "Josie, go. I'm gonna get alcohol poisoning but fucking go."  
"Stop bossing me around, Jesus," Josie stated. She took a deep breath, rolled her neck, wiggled her shoulders, whatever she could do to prolong Chris's stress.  
Chris chuckled. "She's torturing me on purpose, you know that right? You're torturing me on purpose."  
"Haven't I been all night?" Josie asked. She arched her eyebrow and lifted her shoulders, driving her breasts even more up and out.  
Chris rolled his lips over his teeth and closed his eyes. "Jesus, save me."  
"Aren't you Buddhist?"  
"Would you take the damn shot?! Jesus, woman!"  
"Okay, okay, okay." Josie took a deep breath and lifted her wrist. She released the ping pong ball and time seemed to slow down. The white ball coasted through the are and when it sank, it sank with a splash in the final cup on the gentlemen's side.  
"YES!" Lola shouted, wrapping her arms around her cousin. "FUCK YES! DRINK UP, BOYS!"  
Chris and Scott groaned but toasted the red solo cups in their hands. "Fuck me," Chris sighed.  
"I think she'll take you up on that," Scott said with a wink and a nod as the girls headed toward them with the remaining five cups from their end of the table.  
"Here you are boys," Josie greeted in a sing song voice. "Enjoy."  
"I fucking hate you," Chris chuckled.  
"Mm. I think the word you're looking for is love," Josie mocked with an exaggerated wink. "I'll take one. Can't split seven evenly."  
"Oh, you're so gracious."  
"I know. I'm fantastic, aren't I?"  
"You're something alright," Chris said with a smirk. Neither of them realized how close they were standing, but everyone else sure did.  
Scott chuckled, putting his cup to his lips. "Oh it is on tonight."  
"Yup," Lola nodded. 

"Why are you cleaning?" Chris asked with a laugh as he walked into the kitchen to find Josie clearing the empty bottles, cups and various other items from the counter. "Stop it. Stop cleaning."  
"You're just gonna leave it like this?" Josie asked.  
"Nola comes tomorrow. It's fine. It's fine."  
"You can't make her deal with all of this by herself."  
"She's the cleaning lady. It is literally her job."  
"Does she know what she's about to walk into?"  
"Yes. She was warned. Now come on. I need you outside."  
"Outside?"  
"Smoke break. Duh." Chris walked away and opened the back door. There was a stone paved patio, a fire pit, a gathering of chairs and a lush green yard for his dog to play in. Most people in the Hills had a pool, but not Chris. He preferred the ocean...or Josie's house.  
"Oh my god. It's cold out here," Josie gasped, wrapping her arms around herself.  
"It probably wouldn't be so bad if you had clothes on," Chris stated with a grin as he lit a cigarette and handed it to the girl.  
"I am wearing clothes, thank you."  
"Barely," Chris laughed.  
There was a silence, but it was pleasant. Calm. Still. Josie took a drag and then cleared her throat. "So, which one of Dave's trollops is meant for you?"  
Chris choked on the drag he'd just took. "What?"  
"Well I know ain't both for him and the blonde one has been eyeing you all night long," Josie explained. She nodded toward the door where the blonde one, Bethany, was indeed staring out into the duo's dark seclusion.  
Chris followed her glance but almost immediately looked back to Josie and rolled his eyes. "Neither. No thank you."  
"No thank you? You feeling okay?"  
Chris grinned and shook his head. "I am fine. I'm just not into...that...at the moment."  
"What are you into at the moment, Mr. Evans?"  
"This an interview now?"  
"Mhmm."  
"You really haven't figured it out?" Chris's blue eyes looked into Josie's so intensely that she felt a shiver creep through her bones.  
"What're you talking about?" Josie asked. She quickly broke the gaze that had caused her to blush, her eyes falling into the lush grass beneath her feet as she kicked one foot softly over the top of the blades. "Don't be dumb."  
"I'm not being dumb," Chris insisted as he stepped closer. Josie still didn't look up but she could feel him coming toward her. "Maybe...I'm being smarter than I've ever been."  
"Chris, no," Josie argued as she finally lifted her eyes from the lawn. He was standing directly in front of her. Almost on top of her and her nerves (and her knees) were shaking. "This can't happen."  
"And why not?" Chris asked. "We're adults. We're allowed."  
"Yeah but we're friends. I don't wanna fuck that up."  
"It won't."  
"It will. It always does."  
"It doesn't have to," Chris argued. "Jo, come on. This has been happening since we met. You know that."  
"I do not!" Josie exclaimed with a burst of giggles. "We'd both just gotten out of awful relationships! This... no. Christopher. No."  
"Jo..."  
"Chris!" Josie exclaimed. She wanted to say more, but the second his hand brushed against her cheek, every thought in her head was gone. She could feel her heart racing as his face dipped closer to hers. "This is a terrible idea," she whispered.  
"I don't think it is," Chris retorted. As his mouth closed the last of the remaining space between them, the patio slid open loudly. "Ugh, Jesus Christ," he groaned.  
"We're heading out, man!" Dave called. "You good?"  
"I'm great. Bye," Chris answered shortly.  
"Bye Josie!"  
"Bye Dave!" Josie said, trying to hold in her laughter. She leaned back and then shouted back into the house. "BYE BETHANY!"  
Chris burst into laughs. "You're cold. You're so cold."  
"I am really cold," Josie agreed as she leaned back into him.  
"Allow me to assist." Without another word, or another interruption, Chris thrust his lips into hers.  
Despite her words of objection, her actions didn't convey the same message. Josie kissed him back and she kissed him hard. Her arms tightly around his shoulders, her body practically melting into his. Maybe...maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.


	5. Chapter 5

It was a bit of a struggle for Chris to open his eyes the next morning. It had been a late night. A very late night.   
The chain of events that occurred after the party ended wasn’t entirely clear. He remembered kissing, a lot of kissing. He remembered kissing outside, kissing on the sofa and eventually kissing in the bedroom. The rest was a bit of a blur of clothes flying, hands roaming, and skin, lots and lots of skin.   
He wasn’t upset about it. Josie was hot and to deny their chemistry would’ve been pointless. He was slightly concerned, however, that things would now be awkward. Not on his part, but hers, so conversation was definitely in order.   
When Chris finally did manage to pry his baby blues open, he quickly found his companion was gone. He sat up in a bit of a panic. All of her things had been collected from the floor. The bathroom door was open and the room was dark so she wasn’t in there. Had Chris Evans just been ditched?   
His mind was racing as his bare feet patted down the hallway. This was crazy. Josie wasn’t the type of girl to sleep with a guy and then just bail. There was no way. She wouldn’t do that to him, they were friends. Of course, they’d never had sex before so maybe she WAS that girl and he didn’t know it until now. He was walking into the kitchen, pulling a clean T-shirt over his head when he finally found her and all his worries ceased.   
Josie was standing at the counter in a stolen T-shirt and her jeans from the night before. On the counter in front of her sat two cups of coffee and a carry out bag from a Los Angeles café they frequented. While Chris had been panicking, Josie had been retrieving breakfast.   
Chris instantaneously cracked an embarrassed grin. “You are an angel,” he said groggily, grabbing the coffee she extended to him.   
“I figured you needed it as badly as I did,” Josie said with a laugh. “Giant, greasy breakfast sandwiches too.”   
Chris’s eyes rolled back in his head with sheer euphoria. “I think I’m in love.”   
Josie laughed again and dug into the bag, handing one of the wrapped delicacies to Chris. “Sleep well?”   
“Apparently. I didn’t even realize you had left,” Chris answered as he took a seat on a stool and began unwrapping his breakfast. “I thought you’d bailed on me.”  
Josie snickered, nearly choking on the bite she’d just taken. “Really? You thought I just… fucked you and took off?”   
Chris shrugged. “You weren’t there. It was a concern.”   
“You’re my best friend. You know where I live. Hell, you broke into my house last night. What good would sneaking away in the night do me?”   
“I don’t know! Lay off, okay? I barely slept.”   
“Oh, poor baby. I wasn’t hearing any complaints last night.”   
Chris laughed a bit mischievously. “There was definitely… no complaints… last night,” he agreed with a nod. He took a beat. “I feel like we should probably have a conversation about it though…”   
“About what?” Josie asked, popping a piece of her sandwich into her mouth.   
“About us… about what happened…”   
“What’s there to talk about?” Josie asked with a wave of her head and a shrug.   
“I just…” Chris began. “I just don’t want… I mean… I don’t want anything serious right now…”   
“Neither do I,” Josie interrupted. Chris just stared at her a moment. “Aw. Did you think I was gonna be all in love with you now?! That’s so cute!”   
“Shut up. I wasn’t saying…”   
“Look, I adore you,” Josie began, “and last night… was incredible. But I just got out of a seven year fiasco of a relationship. I have no intention of getting into another one any time soon.”   
“I’m not looking for that either.”   
“So there’s no conversation to have,” Josie stated with a shrug. “We’re on the same page.”   
“I guess so.”   
“Last night was great though.”   
Chris chuckled and nodded. “Yeah. That part could happen again and I wouldn’t mind.”   
“So… we’re just friends who… maybe… on occasion… hook up if the mood strikes them.”   
“I like that idea.”   
“Me too,” Josie smiled. “Okay. I am not blowing you off, I have to go.”   
“Okay,” Chris said with a nod. “Dinner later?”   
“It won’t be weird?” Josie taunted as she picked up her belongings.   
Chris rolled his eyes. “We’ve had dinner together every night for the last week. No. It won’t be weird.”   
“Good.” Josie bent down and planted a small sweet peck on Chris’s lips. “Make reservations. Somewhere nice. I feel like getting gussied up.”   
“You got it, babe. Bye.”   
“Bye!” Josie responded as she practically skipped toward the front door.   
Chris just shook his head and laughed. He could definitely get used to this arrangement. 

“We’re still not dating,” Chris stated, squaring himself up to the pool table in front of him.   
“You’re just banging?” Dave questioned, twisting his pool cue in his hand. Chris simply nodded and took his shot. “Jesus Christ, man. How do you do this? How do you get that lucky? You fucking hook up with an… insanely hot chick and she’s just like ‘Yeah, it’s just sex. We’re cool’. That doesn’t happen. That doesn’t happen for anyone.”   
Chris chuckled. “I guess it does for me. I mean… it’s perfect, really. I love hanging out with her. We have… a ton of fun. And last night… holy shit, man. Mind-blowingly great. So… I get the best of both worlds. I get a super chill best friend and… the best sex of my life.”   
“I fucking hate you,” Dave snarled.   
“I don’t blame you,” Chris chuckled. He then scoffed and shook his head. “This is such a bad fucking idea.”   
“What?”  
“Her and I. Somebody’s gonna get hurt. It’sa given.”   
“My money’s on you.”  
Chris scoffed in defiance. “Me?! Why me?!”  
“Because she’s been through more than you. She’s a hardass. You’re just a big softie under all that scruff and muscle,” Dave explained. Chris snarled his lip. “Look, man, you put on a great act, but I know you. I know how you are. You say you don’t want anything real but I can see that gleam in your eye already. You’re falling for her.”   
“Fuck you, man,” Chris laughed dismissively. “You don’t know shit.”   
“Keep telling yourself that. You’re already sunk.”   
Chris rolled his blue eyes and shook his head. “Whatever, dude. I gotta go.” He finished off the pint and turned to slap Dave’s hand. “Karaoke later?”   
“Yup. Bring the girlfriend.”   
“Fuck off. See ya.”   
“Later.”

The newest Los Angeles non-couple met up with Dave, Scott, Lola and a few others after their “just friends” dinner. The group started out at a local karaoke bar. The place was packed, so they had a few drinks, sang a few songs and headed out, this time to a dance club.   
The club was also packed, but also a lot more spacious. They got a table in the VIP section thanks to Chris and his recognizable face where the bottle service more than took care of them. Drinks were flowing and flowing, they were all dancing and laughing and Chris was in heaven.   
“Uh! It’s so hot in there!” Chris groaned as he practically stumbled outside for a cigarette. He wasn’t that drunk, but his legs were basically jello from the dance marathon. He had yet to leave Josie’s side all night. Or her front. Or her back. Or whatever part of her body their dance moves involved. The dancing and the drinks were quickly bringing back his desires from the previous evening. It seemed to be his new trend.   
“It’s not a whole lot cooler out here,” Josie pointed out as Chris sat on the edge of an empty table and lit up. It was unusually hot for September, 103 on this particular day, and Josie had never been so thankful for air conditioning.   
She pushed back her red hair and wiped beads of sweat from her forehead, not noticing Chris’s eyes practically staring through her.   
“I think it’s you,” Chris smirked as he took a drag and exhaled as slowly as possible. He practically trembled as the nicotine entered his veins. Sometimes there was nothing better than a smoke, especially when he was hot and drunk.   
Josie rolled her eyes and lit a Marlboro of her own. “You’re so fucking cheesy,” she said with an unmistakable sass.  
Chris grinned crookedly and shook his head before he scratched his fingers through his beard. “Nah. Just honest.” There was a moment of silence. Not awkward, not tense. Just quiet. “How are we even awake right now?”   
“No. The question is how am I even awake right now. You slept. Your snoring ass kept me awake all night.”   
“I do not snore,” Chris rebutted. “That’s offensive.”   
“Bullshit. Want me to record you next time?”  
“So…there’ll be a next time?” Chris questioned, his eyebrows arched high and a mischievous gleam in his eyes.   
“If you’re lucky,” Josie smirked.   
“You seemed pretty happy last night so…”   
“It’d been over a year. I would’ve been happy with anybody.”   
“Oh, thanks,” Chris stated, throwing his hands into the air. “You sure know how to make a guy feel mother fucking special.”   
Josie laughed at his enormous overreaction to her taunts. “I’m joking. You were fine.”   
“Fine?! FINE?! I’ve been bragging to Dave all day about how fucking incredible it was and I get a ‘fine’?”  
“You told Dave?”  
“Of course I did. He was there. Pretty sure he and everyone else saw it coming,” Chris scoffed. He watched a worried expression coast over Josie’s face. “Was I supposed to keep it a secret?”   
“No, no,” Josie argued. “It’s just… the more people know about it, the more they’ll question the whole thing.”  
“So?” Chris shrugged. “Since when do you care what other people think?”  
“I don’t. I just…”  
“We’re adults, Jo. We can do what we want whenever we want to, no permission needed.”   
“I’m aware of that,” Josie stated. “But… you’re kind of in the public eye. People are gonna assume we’re together and then BAM! It’s everywhere.”   
Chris shrugged again and waved his head back and forth. “Let em. I ain’t afraid. I’ll gladly paparazzi date you. I’ve done way worse.”   
Josie laughed. “You’re a moron.” She finished her cigarette and stamped it out before tossing it into a nearby ashtray. “We should get in there before they start asking questions.”   
“Let em.” Chris put out his smoke and glanced around the minuscule patio to make sure they were truly alone. He took a few steps toward Josie and laid a soft but lingering kiss on her dark plum painted lips.   
Josie blinked rapidly out of surprise as he pulled away. “Just friends, eh?”  
Chris chuckled. “Really, REALLY good friends.” Gently, he took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers together. “Cmon. Let’s go dance.”   
“Yessir.” Josie didn’t know what else to say. She was a bit confused, but happy. For the first time in a long time. And she had no intention of toying with it. 

She ended up in his bed again. She had every good intention of going home alone and going to sleep, but she couldn’t say no to those blue eyes and that smile. It was definitely going to be a problem.   
Chris attempted to catch his breath as he folded an arm under his head. “You are going to kill me if we keep this up,” he said with a contented sigh as his eyes closed and his chest heaved with a deep breath.  
Josie chuckled as she nestled herself into his chest, her head laying on his other arm. “It’s been awhile. I got some aggression to work out.”   
“Remind me to send Blake a thank you note,” Chris sighed. He took another deep breath and opened one eye, looking over at the girl cuddled up beside him. “You ok?”  
“I’m great,” Josie insisted with a laugh. “Just in a daze.”   
“I’ll take that as a job well done.”  
“You should.”   
Chris sniffed and pressed his head deeper into his down pillow. “Ya know, if you’re uncomfortable with this, we can stop…”  
“I’m not uncomfortable. Why would you think that?”  
“I dunno. You seemed uneasy earlier.”  
“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. Neither of us deserve that.”  
“I agree. So, if it gets to be too much, we say so. Nothing but one hundred percent honesty.”  
“Deal.”  
“And if… someone comes along and we decide to pursue other opportunities, we… call it off. No questions asked, no hurt feelings.”   
“Okay.”   
“I’m not gonna lie though, I hope that doesn’t happen for awhile.”  
Josie laughed. “You’re gross.”  
Chris reached his arm that had become a pillow around her head and covered her mouth. “Shh. Be nice. We’re in nice mode now.” A second later he felt a sharp nip on his palm. “DID YOU JUST BITE ME?!”  
Josie squeaked with laughter as Chris practically threw himself on top of her, poking and prodding and tickling until she could hardly breathe. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” she shouted in between gasps for air.   
“Oh no. It’s too late for that, lady!” Chris insisted. He tickled awhile more before tickles turned into kisses and kisses turned into more. It was going to be another late night. But neither seemed to mind.


	6. Chapter 6

“So… Jo was busy?”  
Chris tried not to laugh, but it wasn’t happening. Scott could read him like a book. The only reason the younger Evans brother was accompanying his older sibling was because the girl in question was indeed already booked. “Yeah. Some… work… thing.”  
Scott rolled his eyes. “And I guess I’m the back-up plan.”  
“Well I sure wasn’t going alone.”  
The duo was headed to some “Hot in Hollywood” party. Chris wasn’t exactly sure what it was but he knew his PR agent said he had to attend so… he was, though quite begrudgingly.  
Chris and Josie and their little “arrangement” had been going on smoothly just over a month now. Sure things had changed a bit once Max and his grandmother returned to Los Angeles, but it was nothing that a spare key and an eight o’clock bed time couldn’t fix. Not that he always snuck into her bed in the middle of the night. He’d met both Max and Jane, on numerous occasions. Max had quickly bonded to him, in fact. They were best friends. But sometimes one didn’t need a nice dinner and movies with the family. Sometimes one simply needed a secret, late night rendezvous.  
The more time he spent with Josie, the more his affection for her grew. Not in a romantic way, he was sure to insist. Though, when he was alone, with only the thoughts spinning in his head, there were definitely moments he wasn’t so sure. But, he’d brush it off like the voices of all their friends and go about things as agreed upon: no commitments, no strings, no worries.  
The party was in some swanky downtown hotel, complete with its own private rooftop bar. There was a red carpet outside lined with photographers and stars of every caliber and every occupation: sports, television, music and of course, film. It took about twenty minutes for Chris and his brother to complete their red-carpet arrival and the entire time, Chris could’ve sworn he had spotted Josie a few slots ahead. Assuming that, instead, he was just crazy, he kept his mouth shut. However, once inside, it was Scott who, without a doubt, noticed the beauty’s presence.  
“Hey, ain’t that your baby mama?” Scott questioned with a nudge as he pointed across the room.  
Chris glared at his brother in disgust, but followed the younger brother’s motions. Sure enough, standing a few feet away with a couple minor celebrities and a man who bared a striking resemblance to Zorro, was his Josie. Okay, maybe the guy didn’t look like Zorro. Maybe it was more a flicker of jealousy causing Chris to be a bit snotty, but whatever it was, the unknown man’s hand was on the small of Josie’s back and Chris wasn’t a fan.  
His gaze continued to stare upon the girl and Josie must’ve felt it because she almost immediately turned and spotted him. She gave Chris a surprised but warm smile, Chris smirked and waved, and then Josie excused herself from her group and headed toward him.  
The heels on her feet made her a solid few inches taller than the man she had left behind and clacked across the floor as she strode toward Chris. In the last month the shaved portion of her hair had grown enough to add extensions and her now cherry auburn locks were wrapped into a tight bun atop her head.  
Chris couldn’t pull his eyes off her. The confidence in every step she took, the glowing smile on her face, and that outfit. Good lord, that outfit. It was a tight, jet black tux, with glitter stripes down the ankle length pants and a glitter lapel on the quarter sleeved jacket. Underneath the jacket was nothing but a black, lacy looking bra. She was stunning and Chris was in awe.  
“Fancy seeing you here,” Josie beamed as she embraced Scott.  
Chris shook himself from his daze as she moved her arms to him. “Thought you had to work,” he said.  
“This is work, silly.”  
Chris laughed. “Yeah, you look so… dressed for work.”  
“It is!” Josie exclaimed. “I produced and wrote most of Camila’s album. She’s performing tonight, therefore, work.”  
“And here I thought you didn’t want people to know who you are.”  
Josie blushed and hung her head before turning her gaze back to the blue eyes before her. “Well, see, I have this friend who thought maybe I should start strutting around like the badass bitch I am… and… this seemed like the perfect place to start.”  
Chris grinned proudly. “He sounds like a really smart dude.”  
“He can be.”  
“Good looking, too, I bet.”  
“Meh,” Josie teased with a shrug and a snarl of her lip. She turned back to the table she had left behind to find her companion alone and staring. She waved him over and Chris had to fight a groan.  
“Who’s your date?”  
Josie rolled her eyes. “That’s Oscar. He’s my sound engineer. We worked on the album together. It’s not a date.”  
“You sure? He’s kind of glaring daggers…”  
“You a bit jealous there, Cap?”  
“Do I need to be?” Chris retorted as Oscar arrived before him. Josie introduced the two males and they begrudgingly shook hands. Chris could already tell it was going to be an interesting night. 

“So, you’ve never actually HEARD her sing?” Oscar asked with a mocking scoff. “Cuz that’s completely different than listening to some videos on YouTube.”  
“Stop,” Josie commanded, partially out of embarrassment, partially because she could see the tension in Chris’s jaw.  
Chris was getting more annoyed by Oscar’s rapid-fire interrogation by the second. Last he’d checked, he hadn’t signed up for a Who Knows Josie better contest, but Oscar apparently felt differently. “I guess I’ve never had the opportunity,” he stated, dryly.  
Oscar huffed a bit of air out of his nose. “And I thought you guys were besties.”  
“We’re better friends than you’ll ever fucking know,” Chris muttered under his breath. He quickly felt a sharp kick into his shin under the dinner table and looked across to find Josie glaring.  
“I think it’s time to go outside,” she stated, her eyes never leaving the movie star. “Chris?”  
Chris knew her statement was less of a request and more of a command so he obliged, following the girl out the patio door of the restaurant like a lost puppy dog.  
Josie quickly lit up a cigarette and turned to face him. “What in the hell are you doing?”  
“Jo! Come on!” he pleaded. “That dude’s a dick.”  
“So, you’re a dick back?” Josie retorted. “You’re better than that.”  
“He’s fucking trying to push my buttons!”  
“And you’re letting him!” Josie exclaimed. She took a long drag and shook her head as she exhaled. “What’s going on? You’re like… on some freak jealous boyfriend kick tonight. Did I do something?’  
“No. No, of course not.”  
“Then what? What’s happening here?”  
Chris shrugged and heaved a heavy sigh. “I don’t know. Why am I the one out here getting lectured? He’s the one bragging about how he knows you SOOOO much better than I do.”  
“And you know that’s not true,” Josie stated firmly. She stepped closer to the still somber Chris. “Right? You DO know that?”  
Chris finally cracked a small smile. “I do.”  
“Good. You should. And I’m out here lecturing YOU because I care about you,” Josie stated. “Oscar is a non-issue.”  
“He wants to be an issue.”  
“Christopher…”  
“Seriously, Jose, come on. You’ve gotta see it. That guy’s completely in love with you.”  
“He is not,” Josie argued with a dramatic eyeroll. “We’ve known each other like ten years. He’s never said a single word.”  
“Josephine, I promise you, that man would marry you tomorrow if I’d allow it.”  
“If YOU’D allow it?” Josie asked with a laugh.  
“Well, yeah, because I ain’t letting that douche canoe anywhere near you.”  
Josie chuckled and shook her head, dropping her cigarette into the ashtray before she stepped to Chris and brushed a soft, sweet peck on his anxiously awaiting lips. “You have nothing to worry about.”  
“I’m not worried.”  
“Say that all you want your behavior proves otherwise.” Josie watched as Chris’s grin turned into a more stone like, furrowed brow. “What? What’s wrong?”  
“Nothing. Apparently I’m just… a mess tonight,” Chris stated. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to be weird.”  
“Well, you’re doing really well.”  
Chris laughed and shook his head. “Thanks. Thank you,” he said as Josie pulled his arm up and wrapped it around herself. “Sure you’re not going to blow me off for that shithead?” he asked as they headed back inside.  
“Not a chance, bub,” Josie smiled brightly. “Now… best behavior, or someone’s going home alone tonight.”  
“You mean I’m not right now?”  
“Not yet.” 

Chris was beginning to grow nervous. He and Josie had left separately, Josie insisting she take Oscar home since they arrived together. She had promised to meet Chris afterward, but it had now been nearly an hour and she was still a no show. He was pacing his living room, trying to decide if he should send a text or if it would look too desperate.  
However, just as he had brought up the message screen, there was a knock on his front door. He rushed toward it, anxious and certain something had gone wrong.  
“Are you okay?” he questioned, eyes wide as he flung open the front door.  
Josie laughed, taken aback by the urgency in his voice. “Of course,” she answered, stepping in and pushing the door shut behind her. “Why wouldn’t I be?”  
“That took forever,” Chris blurted out, his nerves still frazzled. “I was really worried.”  
“I can tell. Calm down,” Josie said sweetly, running her hands down his arms. “I’m okay.”  
“Okay. Okay. You’re right. I’m sorry.”  
Josie took a deep breath. “You weren’t wrong.”  
“What?”  
“About… Oscar. He tried to kiss me.”  
“Tried?”  
“I, um, I kind of spazzed out,” Josie explained with a bit of an embarrassed chuckle as she scratched the back of her head. “I’m talking like… jerked myself away and nearly punched him in the face spazzed out. I actually feel kind of terrible.”  
Chris laughed. “I don’t. I would’ve paid to see that.”  
“Stop,” Josie commanded. “He was actually… really sweet… I was just shocked because I mean… nothing about tonight said “Hey, kiss me” as far as I know. I mean, I spent more time with you than I did him and then we pulled up to his apartment and he did the whole hand on the neck thing and it was weird and then I… wigged out…”  
“Jose, I don’t… really… need a play by play. Especially since I already don’t like the guy.”  
“You’re right. You’re right. I’m sorry. This is a Kari or Lola conversation. Not a Chris.” Josie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay.”  
Chris felt bad. She was bursting at the seams, wanting desperately to talk about the events of the last hour. “No. You’re fine. What else happened?” he asked, attempting to feign interest.  
“You don’t need to hear this.”  
“We’re friends, right?” Chris asked. “Friends talk.”  
“You sure?”  
“Yes,” Chris nodded, taking a seat on his sofa. “Let’s hear it.”  
Josie sighed and sank into the opposite end of the sofa. “So… he admitted that he’s had a thing for me, like… the entire time we’ve known each other… and then he asked me out…”  
“What’d you say?” Chris felt a stone forming in the pit of his stomach. His brain was begging her to tell him she said no. Begging and pleading and he didn’t understand why. Or he did. He just wasn’t ready to admit it.  
“I felt terrible,” Josie said with a shrug. “So I agreed.”  
Chris’s heart sank. “Oh. So… you’re going on a date?”  
“Yeah. I guess. Not for a while. He heads to Miami for a month or so to work on an album. But, I guess… I guess when he gets back… yeah… we are…”  
Chris gulped and nodded his head. “So, I guess that means this is…”  
“No! No, don’t be silly,” Josie stated. “I’m not even sure I have feelings like that for Oscar and like I said, it’ll be at least a month.” Her voice trailed off as she looked at Chris’s face. He was pale and silent. He looked positively shaken. “I mean, unless you want it to be…”  
Chris didn’t say anything but stared at the couch cushion beside him. Suddenly he realized what rode on his silence and he shook his head wildly. “No, no. Of course, that’s not what I want. I just don’t want to make things harder on you. I don’t want Oscar to…”  
“Oscar knows we’re friends. He doesn’t really need to know more at this point, does he?”  
“I guess not.”  
“Okay. So we’re good, right?”  
“We’re good,” Chris smiled reassuringly.  
“Good,” Josie beamed. “Now… what do you say we watch a movie? I’m exhausted.”  
“Movie’s good.”  
“And snuggles?”  
“Of course.”


	7. Chapter 7

“Yo!” Chris greeted as he strolled into Josie’s studio. Well, he had walked into the lobby, where Lola was working the front desk. “The boss in?”  
Lola nodded. “Yep. In her office. You got an appointment?”  
Chris scoffed. “I need an appointment?”  
“She’s a very busy lady…”  
Chris snorted. “Don’t I know it. Been trying to get her to lunch for a week and I still haven’t seen her. You think she’s blowing me off?”  
Seven weeks had passed. Chris and Josie had continued “hanging out” but Josie had continued talking to Oscar and in one week, the date that Chris had been dreading would soon take place. He had managed to convince himself that his feelings of disdain were distinctly for Oscar as a person and not any feelings he may be harboring for the girl in question. Sure, he had yet to convince Scott or any of his friends, but as long as he believed it, that was all that mattered.  
Lola rolled her eyes. “I thought you guys were just “hanging out.” Why would it matter if she was?”  
“Well I don’t particularly care for being blown off, even by my friends, so…” Chris answered with a bit of a sarcastic snarl. “Why are you all so obsessed with us? Your life that boring?”  
“I have a very satisfying life, thank you,” Lola stated firmly. “I just happen to think that you two are being fucking morons. She likes you, you like her, just fucking admit it and date already. It’s not that hard.”  
“It’s not like that,” Chris insisted for the four hundredth time since he’d returned to LA.  
“Whatever,” Lola sighed as she rolled her almost clear eyes. “Go in. She should be alone. I don’t know. Maybe Oscar came back early and he’s railing her on the desk.”  
Chris’s eyes widened in what could only be described as horror. “Wait. He’s back?”  
“Do you care? You and Jo are just friends, right?”  
Chris rolled his eyes. “Never mind. See ya later.” He cleared his throat and headed down the hallway. Josie’s door wasn’t even closed so he was certain no one was railing her on the desk. He spotted her, head down, working on something, not even noticing his presence. He posted himself in the door frame and delivered a sharp knock.  
Josie looked up. “Well hi, stranger,” she greeted with a smile.  
“God, I almost forgot what you looked like,” Chris teased as he walked in the office. “Starting to feel like you don’t like me very much anymore.” Josie smiled weakly but didn’t utter a response. Not even a word. Chris eyed her oddly. “Alright, what’s wrong? What I do?”  
“Nothing,” Josie said with a heavy sigh, shaking her head back and forth. “It’s not you. I just… I got… I just got a very surprising phone call.”  
“Oh yeah?” Chris asked, taking a seat at the empty chair in front of the girl. “What was it?”  
“Blake.”  
Chris’s head jerked back in shock. He shifted in the chair uncomfortably before turning his baseball cap backwards on his head. “Wow. Um… yeah, I would say that was surprising. What’s it been, like six months?”  
“Almost.”  
“What’d he want?”  
“He wants to see Max.”  
“Now? He wants to see to see Max now?” Chris questioned. His tone was biting, his annoyance with her ex’s sudden reappearance quite evident. “He hasn’t even talked to the kid in half a year and now he wants to see him? What did you tell him?”  
“Well, I kind of laughed at him at first.”  
“Warranted.”  
“But… I can’t prevent him from having a relationship with his son,” Josie continued. “I mean, he’s a fucking prick, but… I don’t know. I don’t want to be that monster.”  
“What monster?”  
“The bitch that keeps her kid away from their father, ya know? I mean I don’t even know my dad’s name. It’s not a fun way to live. I can’t do that to Max.”  
“You didn’t do shit to Max!” Chris exclaimed. “Blake did! Blake made those decisions. Blake checked out, not you.”  
“And what if he’s trying to check back in?”  
“And what if he checks in for one night and then disappears for another six months? Max doesn’t deserve that in and out bullshit.”  
“You seem more bent outta shape about this than I am,” Josie said with a sight chuckle.  
“I’m not bent out of shape,” Chris argued. “I’m just trying to protect you… and Max.”  
“Honey, you don’t have to protect me from shit. Just because he’s in Max’s life doesn’t mean he has anything to do with mine.”  
“Yeah it does. He’s your kids father. If you’re going to co-parent, he’s going to be in your life… and you don’t exactly have a good track record of actually being done when you say you’re done.”  
“Well thank you. It’s nice to know you have so much faith in my self-control.”  
Chris groaned and pressed his elbows into his knees, laying his head in his hands. “I’m not trying to be a dick,” he insisted as he looked up at the girl across from him. “I just want you and Max to be okay, that’s it. And… Blake coming back around doesn’t exactly make me feel like you’re okay.”  
Josie smiled sweetly and rose from her desk. She came around the corner and very deliberately took a seat on Chris’s lap, forcing him to sit back straight as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “You know…” she began softly, brushing her hand against his cheek, “it’s not your job to protect us.”  
“The hell it’s not,” Chris argued, his blue eyes gazing up at the girl with an affectionate glow. “If I’m not gonna do it, who will?”  
Josie smiled sweetly. “You’re adorable,” she stated before pressing her lips softly against his. As she pulled back, she took a deep breath and sighed. “Will you be there? Tonight? When Blake shows up?”  
“He’s coming over tonight?” Chris asked. Josie simply nodded. “Of course I will,” he stated, brushing away a few strands of chocolate hair that had fallen into her eyes. “You sure you want that? I can’t promise I won’t punch the guy in the face.”  
“That’s probably the biggest reason I want you there.”  
The duo laughed as Chris wrapped his arms tightly around the girl’s abdomen and squeezed. “I’ll be there. I’ll be there for anything and everything you want me to be there for.”  
“You’re the best.”  
“I know.” 

“This is EXACTLY why I didn’t tell Max he was coming!” Josie exclaimed, pacing around her kitchen angrily. “I knew that asshole wouldn’t show up!”  
It was 9:30. Blake had promised to arrive at seven and Josie had yet to hear from him. She’d kept Max up well past his eight o’clock bedtime, but the longer the wait became, the more Josie realized that Blake had once again let her down. At nine pm, she had tucked the nearly five year old into bed with no idea that his father had broken yet another promise.  
“I’m sorry, baby,” Chris apologized, not really knowing what to say to the enraged woman to calm her down. “The guy is a douche in every way imaginable.”  
“I can’t believe I trusted him. I can’t believe I had even an ounce of faith that he would show. I’m a fucking moron,” Josie growled.  
“No, stop,” Chris commanded. “You were trying to do the best thing for Max. You wanted him to have his father. You didn’t do anything wrong.”  
Josie fought back tears, burning like a fire in her eyes. “I’m just glad I didn’t tell him. That kid doesn’t need any more disappointment.”  
Chris pouted sympathetically and pulled Josie into his arms, resting his chin atop her head. “I got an idea. Why don’t you and Max come to Disney with me and my family this weekend? It’ll be great. Max will get some other kids to play with, you’ll get to meet my mom. It’ll be a fun little vacation.”  
“I don’t wanna nudge in on your family outing.”  
“You’re not nudging anywhere. I just invited you. Come on. Come on!” he continued, waving his body back and forth, shaking Josie with him. “It’s gonna be the best!”  
“Max hasn’t ever been to Disney…”  
“WHAT?! THAT’S A CRIME! You HAVE to come now!” Chris insisted.  
Josie laughed and her cheeks flushed just slightly pink. “You don’t think it would be weird?”  
“Why would it?” Chris asked with a shrug.  
“I mean, aren’t family vacations usually a… girlfriend thing?”  
Chris pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. “It’s fine. My mom wants to meet you.”  
“She knows about me?”  
“Um, duh,” Chris said matter of factly. “I tell my mom everything.”  
Josie sighed. “When are you leaving?”  
“Thursday.”  
Josie shook her head. “I can’t. I have a session Thursday…”  
“So let me take Max and you join us when you can…”  
“What?!” Josie cried with laughter. “I can’t let you do that! That’s insane!”  
“Why?!” Chris asked with a laugh. “You act like I’m a stranger! Maximilian and I hang out all the fucking time… We went to a movie just me and him last week.”  
“That’s slightly different than a road trip to an amusement park,” Josie scoffed.  
“Jo, come on. Come ooooon,” Chris pleaded. “You trust me, right?”  
“Of course, I do. It has nothing to do with trust. I don’t want to saddle you with…” Josie paused and took a breath. “What if he has a meltdown? I don’t want you to have to deal with that.”  
“We’ve never had any problems before.”  
Josie just stared at Chris for a moment. His blue eyes wide and pleading. “You’re not gonna give up on this, are you?”  
“It’s not likely.”  
Josie groaned and ran her hands over her head. “Fine. Fine. FINE. You can take Max to Disneyland and I will meet you out there on Friday…”  
“Yes! YEEEESSS!” Chris exclaimed triumphantly. He wrapped his arms around the girl’s waist and hoisted her into the air as she giggled and squirmed. “I WIN!”  
“Stop! Put me down!” Josie shrieked. Chris continued laughing but obliged. “I fucking hate you.”  
“You do not.”  
“I can’t say no to you! It drives me crazy!”  
“You’ve said no to me.”  
“When?”  
Chris was silent for a moment as he rummaged through their memories together. “Oooh, last week… after the club… I asked…”  
“I know what you asked,” Josie interrupted quickly. “And I wasn’t drunk enough.”  
“So… if I feed you more booze…”  
“Shut up. Pick a movie. I’ll get the ice cream.” 

Josie and Chris were both dozing off on the sofa when the doorbell rang. They looked at each other, at first confused, then a bit concerned. It was ten thirty at night and a visitor wasn’t exactly expected (or welcome.)  
“What the fuck?” Chris said groggily. “Stay here.”  
“Chris…”  
“No. I’ll get it. Stay here. Please.”  
“Chris…”  
“Would you listen just this once?” Chris asked as he climbed to his feet. “It’s late and we don’t know who’s out there.”  
“We would if we’d check the camera.”  
Chris cocked his head in confusion. “What?”  
Josie chuckled silently and grabbed her phone from the coffee table. She clicked open an app and instantly groaned. “It’s Blake.”  
“At ten fucking thirty at night? Is he insane?”  
“Likely.”  
“I’ll get rid of him.”  
“No,” Josie argued. “No. You stay here. I’ll deal with it.”  
“Josie…”  
“Chris. Stay. Please.”  
Chris sighed and unwillingly obeyed, sinking back into the sofa as Josie made her way to the front door.  
She opened it just as Blake was about to reach for the doorbell again. “Don’t you fucking dare,” she said through clenched teeth. “What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”  
“I told you I was coming to see Max…” Blake began.  
“It is ten thirty at night. On a school night. He goes to bed at eight. You were supposed to be here at seven,” Josie stated.  
“I got held up.”  
“No shit. A call would’ve been nice.”  
Blake rolled his eyes. “Can I see my son?”  
“No. No you fucking cannot,” Josie answered, arms folded across her chest. “Had you shown up when you said you would, it would’ve been fine. But you cannot roll in here whenever the hell you’d like and demand to see him.”  
“He’s my kid!”  
“He’s been your kid for the last six months and you weren’t here! Why are you so interested now!?” Josie exclaimed.  
Chris couldn’t sit in the living room silent any longer. “Hey babe…” he began, pretending to have no idea as to what was occurring in the entryway. He got up from the couch and strode into the hall. “Oh, hey. Sorry. Didn’t realize we had guests.”  
“We?” Blake repeated. He looked from Chris to Josie and back to Chris. “Really, Jo? I thought you weren’t into the LA type…”  
“You don’t get to say a single word about who I do anything with.”  
“Hey man, you kinda showed up here in the middle of us planning a little family weekend,” Chris stated with an almost taunting chuckle. He walked up behind Josie and placed his hands on her shoulders, giving them an affectionate rub. He then looked at Blake a bit oddly. “Wait… don’t I know you?”  
Blake suddenly got all huffy. His chest inflated and he shifted his eyes away from the movie star. “No, man.”  
“Yeah… yeah, I do,” Chris argued. “You worked on the first Avengers film for a while… until you got fired because you wouldn’t stop harassing Scarlett.”  
Josie’s eyes widened in shock. “THAT’S why you got fired?!”  
“No, come on. This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about…”  
“The hell I don’t,” Chris said with a dismissive scoff. “Scar’s one of my best friends. Trust me. I know everything.”  
Josie looked back to Blake, her jaw clenched. “You need to go.”  
“Josie, come on, I just want to see Max…”  
“She said you need to go,” Chris repeated, his voice quite deep and stern.  
“And what the fuck are you gonna do if I don’t?” Blake snapped.  
“Enough!” Josie shouted. She then remembered her five-year-old was asleep upstairs. “Blake, get out of here. If you really want to see Max you can try again next week. But I swear to God if you pull what you did tonight you will NEVER see that boy again.”  
“You can’t do that.”  
“Oh watch me,” Josie said, her face still as stone.  
Blake stared at his ex fiancée for a moment and then Chris and without another word, he turned and walked away.  
Josie slammed the door shut with just the palm of her hand and Chris watched as the girl practically deflated before him.  
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. C’mere,” he soothed, instantly turning her around and pulling her into his arms.  
“We were dating when you started shooting!” Josie exclaimed. “Like… three months in and he was already pulling shit!”  
“I’m sorry. I… I didn’t even realize who HE was until I saw him. I should’ve said something.”  
“Stop it. It’s not your fault,” Josie assured. Her heart was practically beating out of her chest. “I just don’t… I don’t understand how someone I knew… intimately… for seven years could turn out to be such a complete fucking stranger.”  
“Love makes us blind,” Chris stated with a shrug.  
Josie snorted a bit. “Ain’t that the truth.” She took a deep breath and ran her hands over her head again. “I’m so amped up. He makes me so angry. So indescribably angry.”  
“I get it. I do. He’s… he’s a real piece of shit.”  
“He is,” Josie nodded as she sighed. “But you… you were pretty incredible there. Playing the protective boyfriend…”  
Chris smirked. “It’s pretty amazing I haven’t won an Oscar yet.”  
Josie laughed brightly. “It really is.”  
“I had to,” Chris stated somberly. “I knew if I didn’t step in he was just gonna keep pushing you and you would just get more upset and… I couldn’t let that happen.”  
“I know... I said earlier…” Josie began slowly as she began heading back toward the living room. “That you didn’t need to protect us…”  
“You did,” Chris responded with a single nod.  
“But I kind of like it when you do.”  
Chris beamed. “Oh, is that so? Someone changing her tune now?”  
Josie bit onto her bottom lip and nodded. “She might be.”  
“Well good… because… I don’t picture it changing any time soon.”  
“Good.” Josie crawled back into her spot on the sofa and then patted beside her. “Come on. Let’s finish our movie.”  
“We should probably just start it over,” Chris said with a laugh as he climbed back in behind her, the girl immediately snuggling into his arms. “I think I fell asleep about four minutes in.”  
“Mmm… I don’t think you’re gonna be paying all that much attention now.”  
Chris’s eyebrows raised. “Well damn. Maybe I should’ve swung. See what that would’ve gotten me,” he said teasingly as his lips neared hers.  
“A punch would’ve gotten you what you asked for the other night.”  
“Shit! You think he’s still out there!?” Chris exclaimed, pretending as though he was about to get back up and go looking for the guy in question.  
“You’re awful,” Josie giggled, pulling him back down and placing a hand on the back of his neck.  
“You like it,” Chris grinned before thrusting his lips passionately upon hers, which was pretty much where they stayed for the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 8

“Max, listen to me,” Josie said, on her knee in front of her son. She tugged the straps of his backpack up tight and doublechecked to make sure his shoelaces were tied. “Are you listening?”  
“Yes, Mom,” Max replied with a groan.  
“I need you to be good for Chris… and for Scott, okay? You have to be on your best behavior tonight. Promise me,” Josie stated, eyes wide.  
“Okay.”  
“You promise?” Josie repeated. “Because Chris will tell me if you’re naughty.”  
“I promise, Mom,” Max growled as he began to fidget. “Can we go?”  
Josie laughed. “You just can’t wait to get away from your Momma, huh?” She pulled her son in for a less than enthusiastic hug and the second she released him, he darted away, passed Chris, and to Scott, waiting the SUV door open.  
Chris chuckled as Josie rose to her feet, shaking her head. “I think he might be excited,” the smiling bearded man stated as he strode closer than the seemingly nervous mother.  
“Yeah, yeah I think he is,” Josie said, forcing a weak smile.  
“Will you chill out?” Chris asked with a laugh, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. “Please. I’m starting to think you don’t trust me with him.”  
“You know that’s not it,” Josie said, giving him a disapproving side eye.  
“I do, but all this nervous energy is making me second guess myself,” Chris chuckled. “We’re gonna be fine. It’s an hour in the car and we are going right to the hotel. We’ll probably just order pizza and chill all night, okay? There is NOTHING to worry about.”  
“I’m not worried about you… or some freak of nature accident. I’m worried… about him having a moment and…”  
“Josie, come on. He’s been fine since he got back from your mom’s, hasn’t he?”  
“He’s been better. He’s not just going to be fine, Chris. There’s a lot of… shit… that kid has gone through.”  
“I know that. His mom has gone through plenty and I’ve done pretty well with her, haven’t I?” Chris asked the girl, looking at her almost sternly from under the ridges of his eyebrows. Josie just smiled. “That’s what I thought. If I can handle her, I can handle anything.”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Josie asked, shifting from side to side. Her cheeks were growing a bit hot. Something about that man’s smile…  
“Nothing. Just that… she can be… a handful sometimes…” Chris smiled sweetly. He reached forward and brushed his hand against her cheek. “We will be fine and I will see you in the morning.”  
“What time are we all… heading to the happiest place on Earth?”  
“Don’t rush yourself,” Chris commanded softly. He pressed his lips firmly into her forehead. “Just call me when you get there and we will meet up.”  
“Okay,” Josie agreed with a nod. How could she not? Those eyes… that voice… Things had felt different since their altercation with Blake. She wasn’t completely sure what was going on but it made her feel warm and tingly and she was happy.  
“I’ll call you when we get there. You, stop worrying for a few hours and go get some work done.”  
Josie laughed through her nose and smiled brightly. “Deal.”  
“I’m serious. I wanna see some progress tonight, got it?”  
“You gonna check up on me?” Josie asked as Chris began backing away.  
“I already bugged your computer,” he grinned, lifting his hands in the air. “I’ll call you later.”  
“Bye,” Josie said, with a wave. “Bye, Scott.”  
“Bye, gorgeous. See you tomorrow,” Scott beamed before opening the door to the passenger seat.  
“Bye, Maxwell.”  
Scott looked at the boy and then back to Josie. “He’s already plugged in.”  
“He won’t miss me a bit,” Josie laughed.  
“I will,” Scott blew the girl a kiss before climbing in and shutting the door. He and Chris both waved through the slightly less tinted windshield and they were off.  
Josie watched until the dark colored vehicle was completely out of sight. She sighed and smiled and blushed and sighed again. She had butterflies and, even though it was against their agreement, she didn’t really care. 

“Okay, what in the hell was that?” Scott asked as the SUV full of boys headed toward Disneyland.  
“What was what?” Chris asked as he set his bottle of water back in the cup holder.  
“You… and her… you were being awfully affectionate for fuck buddies,” Scott stated.  
Chris sighed, but he didn’t roll his eyes and he didn’t brush off his brother’s comments. He actually sort of agreed. “I don’t know,” he said softly. “Things have been… kind of weird since the other day with the ex.”  
“What do you mean weird?”  
Chris thought a moment and contemplatively licked his lips. “I dunno… they FEEL different. Like… I don’t know what happened, I can’t explain it. I mean, this was… essentially my idea, this friends with benefits thing, and now… I’m questioning if it’s what I really want.”  
“Are you finally admitting you have feelings for her?”  
Chris shrugged. “I might. It’s all kind of… blurry right now. I don’t know if it’s real feelings or if the lines have just blurred so much that it feels like… a real thing, ya know?”  
“Chris, come on,” Scott laughed. “You’ve had feelings for her from the jump. It’s not just… ghost emotions. You’ve always had feelings for her.”  
“I just… I don’t want to ruin things if I’m not sure… and… right now I’m not. I care about her, I do, obviously. I adore her and I love him,” Chris said, giving the boy in the backseat a glance in the rearview mirror. “There’s so much riding on it and if it would happen to not work out… I can’t do that to him or her again. I can’t.”  
“But what if it DOES work out, Chris? You can’t operate like it’s already promised to fail.”  
“I’m not. I’m just… moving slowly is all. I wanna be completely sure before I do anything… and… this weekend will be a good trial run. All of us, together, her with the family. It’ll be a good test.”  
“You’re testing her now?”  
“Not her, me,” Chris argued.  
“Was this the plan all along?”  
Chris chuckled. “Not really. I originally just invited her to get them away from LA for a few days and then everything with… the douche happened and our whole vibe kind of changed and… now here we are. And my head is a fucking mess.” He caught himself and glanced back to make sure Max hadn’t heard the dreaded ‘f’ word. “Gonna have to watch that.”  
“Yeah, especially if you wanna be step daddy.”  
“Shut up,” Chris smirked crookedly. “Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, huh?”  
“I’m just saying… you all look pretty damn good together.”  
Chris laughed, his cheeks flushing ever so slightly pink, barely visible through his beard. “We’re good looking people, man.”  
Scott watched his brother’s smile just continue to gleam as they headed down the road. He could practically see him daydreaming of Josie and Max and a life they could have together. Now if only he could convince Big Brother Evans to actually do something about it. 

The boys had gorged themselves on pizza and gotten lost in some superhero movie neither Scott nor Chris had ever seen. It was nine pm before Scott excused himself to his own room and Chris and Max curled up on the sofa in Chris’s room. Max has for the one hundredth time since Chris had met the child wanted to watch the Lego Batman movie and Chris, being the kind of guy that he was willingly obliged. He could definitely be forced to watch worse.  
About halfway through the movie, Max began to fidget. Chris ignored it at first, but after a few unsettled minutes, he spoke up. “What’s up, buddy? You okay?”  
Max sniffed and wiggled some more and then turned to the movie star. “Are you my new dad?”  
Chris nearly choked and the breath of air he’d just taken. “Um, what?”  
“Are you my new dad?” the boy repeated.  
Chris gulped. He kind of assumed there’d be at least one moderately difficult conversation this weekend but he had thought it would be with the boy’s mother, not him. “Um, no… no, Max, I’m not your new dad.”  
“Oh,” the boy responded dejectedly.  
“Max, you have a dad…”  
“He’s gone. He’s bad.”  
Chris swallowed again and sat up, scooting himself closer to the small child at the end of the couch. “Listen, buddy, I know it’s hard. I know that you’re mad and upset, and you should be. It’s not okay. And… I may not be your new dad, but, do you know what I am?” Max just shook his head, his dark curls falling into his eyes. Chris picked up the boy and sat him on his lap. “I am an Uncle Chris. You know what Uncle Chrises are right?”  
“No,” Max answered with a giggle.  
“Oh come on, dude!” Chris exclaimed cheerfully. “Uncle Chrises are the best! You get to do all the fun stuff and none of the bad! We get to hang out and go to cool places like Disneyland and play games and watch awesome movies and just be best friends! It’s super cool!”  
“We just get to play all the time?” Max asked hopefully.  
Chris laughed. “Yes. We just get to play all the time… except… for right now. Because your mom put me in charge and its already past bedtime.”  
“It’s okay,” Max assured. “I’m sleepy anyway.”  
Chris chuckled. “Well that was easy. How about I go get a bath ready. You find your PJs. And then we’ll read a story.”  
“Okay!” Max exclaimed. He immediately jumped up and darted through the door connecting Chris’s room to the room where Max and his mother would be staying.  
Chris just chuckled and shook his head. That conversation had gone far easier than he had thought it might. Hopefully that was the continuing trend for the weekend. 

“Nah, he is out like a light,” Chris said with a yawn as he sank into the sofa in his room. “I’ve got the… conjoining in between door thing open a bit in case he needs me but… he’s been a total Rockstar.”  
“I can’t believe it,” Josie said with a laugh of surprise. “I cannot believe how at ease he is with you. It’s incredible.”  
“He’s my little buddy. He’s a seriously good kid,” Chris sighed. “I hate Blake for leaving him. Maybe even more than I hate him for what he did to you.”  
“Hate him for what he did to Max. I’m okay.”  
“Says the girl who won’t go on a date but is sleeping with her best friend.”  
Josie scoffed. “I never said I wouldn’t go on a date. No one’s… really asked me…”  
“Um, Oscar?”  
He could practically hear Josie’s eyes roll over the phone. “Oscar and I haven’t been on a date and… I’m not sure that we will…”  
“Why not? I thought you had plans when he got back this week.”  
“Wow. Got a countdown going do you?”  
Chris snickered, trying to feign innocent, but he did have. Since the little jerk asked her out. “No, I just…”  
“I don’t think I’m going.”  
“Why not? What happened?”  
“Nothing I just… I mean, we’ve been talking for a while now… and I just… I don’t feel like there’s anything there,” Josie explained.  
Chris was trying to contain his excitement. “I mean, you shouldn’t force it if you don’t feel anything. That’s not something you can chance.”  
“Do you not want me to go?”  
“I didn’t say that. I don’t… I don’t have any control over that part of your life. That’s on you.”  
“Well, all things considered, you’re probably the only other person that does have a say.” Josie paused. Chris paused. Everything paused. “If you don’t want me to go, Chris, please, just say it. It doesn’t mean anything other than you don’t want me to go on this date with this guy.”  
Chris took a deep breath. “I feel like this is a conversation we should be having in person.”  
“There’s a conversation to have?”  
Chris chuckled. “You’ve got like a pit bull grip on this, don’t you?”  
Josie laughed in return. “You can’t tell me things haven’t felt… different… here lately… At least I hope you can’t because if you can I am apparently insane and I should just stop talking now.”  
“No. No, you’re not alone,” Chris stated with a deep sigh. “I feel like maybe those lines we talked about getting blurry, the ones that if they did… blur… we would stop… I think it’s happening.”  
“Me too.”  
There was another silence, but this one was more dramatic, more tense. The air, even though in two completely different places, felt thick.  
“So, what do we do?” Chris asked.  
“I don’t know,” Josie stated. “What do you wanna do?”  
Chris burst into laughter. “I don’t know either!” he exclaimed. He covered his face with his forearm. “God, we’re a fucking mess.”  
“Yeah, we are,” Josie agreed with a laugh of her own.  
Chris’s laughs died off into a sigh. “Okay, so… let’s just… take this weekend and see what happens. No pressure, no title, nothing… but use it as kind of a trial run. I mean, we’ll be with my family, we’ll be away from LA, hopefully away from media scrutiny and bullshit… let’s just see how it fits.”  
“You want me to be your practice girlfriend?” Josie chuckled.  
Chris scoffed. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess that’s kind of what I’m getting at. I mean… everyone pretty much thinks we’re together anyway, so, let’s try this not hiding it thing. See if it feels right.”  
“Deal.”  
“Yeah? Does this mean I get to hold your hand in public now? Not just when we’re play fighting on the couch?”  
“If you must.”  
“I think I might have to. I’m kind of… into this idea.”  
Josie laughed. “You’re ridiculous,” she stated. “I need to get to bed. I’m gonna try to get on the road early tomorrow.”  
“You really don’t have to. There’s no rush.”  
“No, but I don’t wanna hold everyone up either,” Josie stated. She took a deep breath. “Chris, no matter what happens after this weekend, promise me that we’re still gonna be friends.”  
“Of course, we are, babe. You’re stuck with me, whether that’s… your best friend or your fuck buddy or… maybe your boyfriend… I don’t know, and I don’t care. I have no intention of leaving you or Max ever. I swear on my life.”  
“Okay, because… the last thing I want is to lose you…”  
“You won’t, baby. I promise.”  
“Okay. I’ll text you when I head out in the morning.”  
“Okay. Sleep tight.”  
“You too.”  
“Oh, I will. I’ll be daydreaming about all the hand holding and skipping we’re going to do this weekend.”  
“There will be no skipping.”  
“Oh, ho, ho, we’ll see about that.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Max! Stop running!” Josie called after her son as he took off the second they walked out of the gift shop. “My god what did you give that kid for breakfast?”   
Chris laughed, adjusting the Patriots cap atop his head. “He’s just excited, man. They’re fine. There’s five of us and four of them. We’ll be good.”   
“Have you seen how fast they move?” Josie asked, slinging her bag back over her shoulder. “I blink and that kid’s gone. I’m kind of striving to not get him kidnapped.”   
Chris shook his head, place a hand on the side of the girl’s face and pulled her head to his lips. “Anyone ever tell you that you worry too damn much?”   
“You. Like… every day.”   
“I’m a smart man.”   
“Don’t flatter yourself,” Josie rolled her eyes. “Max! You wanna give Chris his present or do you want me to?”   
“I do!” Max shouted from his place a few paces ahead.   
“Then you get back here before I do.”   
Curly headed Max separated himself from the other three children and dropped back to the adults. “I’ll do it,” Max stated, tugging on the shopping bag in his mother’s hand.   
“Easy, jeez,” Josie laughed. She dug into the bag and pulled out a smaller bag. Chris wondered if it was about to be like one of those Russian dolls, just a never-ending series of bags within bags. But Josie stopped at the one and held it out to her son. “Here.”   
Max took the bag and immediately extended it up toward Chris. “I picked this out for you,” he stated as the movie star took a knee before him.   
“You did?” Chris replied with a tone of surprise. “You didn’t have to do that.”   
“Yes, I did. You have to have it,” Max stated with an excited giggle. “Open it!”   
Chris obliged and pulled out the item from the bag in his hand. He could tell by the shape that it was a set of Mickey Mouse ears, but he pretended he knew nothing. However, once he unwrapped the tissue paper, it was no ordinary set of mouse ears he found before him. One ear, red and white striped, the other, the iconic shield. In his hands, Chris held a set of Captain America mouse ears. He smiled and chuckled and grinned like a child on Christmas morning. “These are great, buddy! Thank you!”   
“You have to wear them. The whole time we’re here,” Max commanded.   
“Well where’s yours?”   
“Mine aren’t Captain America.” Max quickly turned to his mother who handed him another set of mouse ears. His colored more like Iron Man. He set them atop his own head. “Your turn.”   
Chris instantly listed and set the ears on top of his baseball cap, though slightly off center. “There. That good?”   
“They’re crooked, silly,” Max stated. The boy reached up and straightened the ears. “Don’t take em off,” he commanded before running off to his new friends once again.   
Chris chuckled as he rose back to his feet, pulling the ears from his cap and giving them a better look. “These are pretty sweet,” he stated, giving them a better look. “I didn’t know the even made Cap ones…”   
“Oh, they make EVERYTHING,” Josie stated, her eyes wide as she over enunciated every syllable of the word. “I wanted the Belle ones, but Max said no, they were too flashy.”   
Chris chuckled, putting his gift back on his head. “Well where’s yours?”   
Josie pursed her lips and dug into the sack almost defiantly. “They are… right… here…” She pulled forth a more delicate set of the famed mouse ears. Hers were more of a headband, silver and sparkly. But each ear was embellished with items that could only be found in one movie: her favorite, The Little Mermaid.   
Chris smiled brightly. He placed his red white and blue set back atop his head and reached for Josie’s headband. She obliged and he nestled the sparkles, pearls and shells back atop her head. “That’s a good look. I like it.”   
“Got a secret mermaid fetish, do you?” Josie asked tauntingly.   
“Nah, I think it’s you,” Chris grinned, coyly.   
Josie rolled her eyes. “You’re so full of shit. Come on. Before we get left behind.”   
Chris stood in place a moment, watching her walk after the rest of the group. He watched as his mother gleamed and wrapped an arm around the girl’s waist. He watched as she and Carly and Shanna laughed about the excited kids a few feet ahead. Everything felt so perfect, so right. He didn’t know if it was real life or the fact that they were in the most magical place on Earth, either way. It didn’t matter. He was going to bask in every second that he could. 

“I just want a nap,” Josie groaned as she and Chris finally arrived back in her hotel room. They’d spent the entire day in the park; riding every ride, eating every treat, taking pictures with every character they could find. It was now nearly seven thirty and everyone was exhausted, except for, it seemed, the children. Max and Chris’s nephews (Noel and Skylar) were busy playing in Carly’s room, his elder sister and mother volunteering to supervise.   
Lisa had practically chased Chris and his ‘not’ girlfriend out the door. Telling them to go explore on their own, have an adult night. Josie, never one to inconvenience any one, of course balked at the idea, but Lisa and Chris together eventually convinced her, and now here she was after giving a promise to shower and get ready.   
“No napping,” Chris insisted, shaking his head. “We promised my mom we’d go have fun.”   
Josie pouted and swayed her hips back toward Chris after chucking her pack down on the bed. “But we can have fun here. Curled up in bed… room service… movies…”   
Chris laughed as the girl draped her arms over his shoulder. “We do that pretty much every night back home,” he stated simply as he rested a hand on each of her hips. “Come on. We promised to use this weekend as a trial run. I think that means… we should go on a real date. Me and you.”   
“We’re gonna go on a date? At Disneyland? After we’ve already been here all day?”   
“Oh, girl,” Chris said with a wave of his head. “After dark Disney is so much better than during the day.”   
Josie’s eyebrows raised high in concern. “That sounds like a bad porn…”   
Chris laughed. “Would you please just go shower and get ready? I’ll do the same and then I will prove to you that Disneyland can be just as incredible for grownups as it is for kids.” He paused. “I can’t believe you, the girl with the princess sleeve, of all people would doubt that.”   
“I don’t doubt it. I’m just… super whiny and tired…”   
“Well go take a cold shower and perk yourself up. First stop will be coffee.” Chris’s hands stayed on the woman’s hips as he leaned forward, his lips caressing hers as their foreheads brushed softly against one another’s. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”   
“Fine,” Josie groaned. She was feigning disdain yet she couldn’t keep the smile from stretching over her face as he winked and headed back toward his room. 

He hadn’t lied. There was dinner at incredible five-star restaurant, rides that had been off limits while the children were in tow, a light parade and now fireworks over Sleeping Beauty’s castle. It had been an incredible evening. And despite her earlier protests, Josie was glad she’d given in and accompanied her best friend… or her date… or whatever Chris currently was.   
Josie sighed as she tossed her purse on a chair near the doorway of her hotel. “I suppose I should go get the little one…”   
“Actually,” Chris began as he put his phone on the desk. “Mom says he and the boys are asleep and we should probably… just let them be…”   
“Is that really what she said?” Josie asked as Chris slowly moved toward her.   
“You can check the phone if you want,” Chris offered. He arrived before her and brushed her hair from her eyes. “Tonight was really fantastic.”   
Josie smiled brightly. “It was,” she agreed. “It felt… nice…”   
Chris chuckled silently. He brought his hand forward, brushing against hers softly, his eyes focusing on every movement his fingers made. “I really care about you, Jo,” he said after gulping down what felt like a boulder of emotion forming in the pit of his throat. “You know that, right?”   
“Of course, I do,” Josie practically whispered in return.   
“I think…” Chris gulped. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Wow… um…” He paused, chuckling and shaking his head. “This is harder than I thought.”   
“Chris, what?’ Josie questioned, her face riddled with concern. “What’s wrong?”   
“I’m trying to say something and… I’m not sure if I should and… and I don’t want things to get weird between us and…”   
“Chris, stop,” Josie said with a laugh. She placed the palm of her hand against his chest. She could feel his heart running a mile a minute. “Just say it. Whatever it is. It’s going to be fine.”   
“I think I’m in love with you.”   
Josie’s jaw dropped and she stared at the man wide eyed. Chris stared back, though his was more out of nervousness than being stunned. “What?” she asked. “What did you say?”   
Chris took a deep breath and sighed again. “You’re gonna make me repeat it?”   
Josie laughed quietly and shook her head. “No… no… I just… you THINK you’re in love with me?”   
“That sounds terrible, doesn’t it?” Chris said with a laugh.   
“No, Chris, I get it,” Josie insisted. “Things… are confusing at best right now. They are for me too. If anyone understands, you’re looking at her.”   
“I thought that I would be fine with this just friends who hook up… arrangement and I’m not sure that I am anymore. I’m not sure that I have been for a while now,” Chris explained. “The night Oscar asked you out I began… debating… I didn’t know it or… I wouldn’t admit it at least. But it’s gotten kind of hard to deny.”   
Josie tried to fight a cheesy grin from erupting like a fault line across her jaw. “So you don’t want me to go out with Oscar?”   
Chris breathed a laugh through his nose. “I want you to do whatever it is you feel like you have to do. If you still want to go out with him, I won’t stop you. I mean, neither of us have really even hung out with anyone other than each other. Maybe we should at least… try… to go on dates. Make sure this is…”   
“Stop,” Josie commanded. “If I was remotely interested in going out with anyone else I’m sure that I would’ve by now. I’m not even that interested in going out with Oscar. It’s more of… I feel like I at least owe him a date after practically giving him a black eye.”   
“Still wish I would’ve seen that,” Chris smirked.   
Josie took a beat. “Look, let’s just… finish out the weekend as promised, a trial run. And if we’re still not sure, when we get home, we’ll do the same. Baby steps. We’ve both been through enough. There’s no reason to not ease into things.”   
Chris’s head began nodding slowly. “Yeah. Yeah I like that idea.”   
“Good… now… we seem to have two hotel rooms entirely to ourselves… and I can think of one thing I know we’re both good at…”   
Chris’s nerves seemed to fade away as Josie back herself toward the bed. “You’ve got a one track mind, ya know that?”   
“You seem to be okay with it.”   
“Oh I am,” Chris stated firmly before he thrust his lips upon hers, weaving his fingers into the dark locks on the back of her head. Thought they had been here, not in this bed, a million times before, there was something different. Their lips stayed locked more than ever, their fingers woven together like a beautiful pattern. Before it had always been just what it was: sex. But tonight? Tonight it felt more like making love.


End file.
